This line chart shows the percentage of earnings in covered employment and the percentage of workers with maximum taxable earnings in selected years, 1937–2004.
In 1937, 92% of earnings were in covered employment. That percentage fell gradually, reaching a low of 71.3% in 1965. It then rose steadily, peaking at 88.9% in 1985, then fell back slowly to about 85% in 2004.
The percentage of workers with maximum earnings shows an inverse pattern. Only 3.1% of workers had maximum earnings in 1937, rising steadily and reaching a high of 36.1% in 1965. The percentage fell to 6.5% in 1975, then to 5.8% in 1985—about where it was in 2004.
