Historical tables for corporate-profits-to-wages ratio

Here are the calculations that PolitiFact used to check the Robert Reich quote, “The ratio of corporate profits to wages is now higher than at any time since just before the Great Depression.”

The numbers come from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, an office of the U.S. Commerce Department. We compared corporate profits to two measures -- wages, and total compensation for workers. The ratio for corporate profits to wages is listed first below. The ratio for corporate profits to total compensation is listed second.

Annual figures:

1929: .212, .209

1930: .160, .158
1931: .071, .070
1932: -.010, -.010
1933: -.010, -.010
1934: .071, .069
1935: .106, .104
1936: .143, .140
1937: .150, .144
1938: .112, .106
1939: .139, .133

1940: .192, .184
1941: .246, .236
1942: .248, .239
1943: .234, .226
1944: .212, .204
1945: .172, .164
1946: .160, .150
1947: .191, .181
1948: .228, .218
1949: .213, .202

1950: .242, .229
1951: .238, .225
1952: .209, .198
1953: .196, .186
1954: .194, .183
1955: .231, .217
1956: .210, .196
1957: .198, .185
1958: .176, .164
1959: .207, .191

1960: .195, .179
1961: .193, .178
1962: .208, .190
1963: .217, .198
1964: .224, .204
1965: .238, .217
1966: .231, .209
1967: .210, .190
1968: .206, .186
1969: .182, .164

1970: .150, .134
1971: .165, .146
1972: .174, .154
1973: .176, .153
1974: .149, .129
1975: .164, .140
1976: .180, .153
1977: .193, .162
1978: .195, .164
1979: .180, .150

1980: .147, .122
1981: .148, .123
1982: .130, .107
1983: .155, .128
1984: .173, .142
1985: .168, .138
1986: .149, .123
1987: .163, .134
1988: .175, .144
1989: .165, .136

1990: .158, .131
1991: .162, .133
1992: .167, .136
1993: .177, .143
1994: .194, .158
1995: .210, .171
1996: .222, .183
1997: .228, .190
1998: .194. .162
1999: .192, .160

2000: .170, .142
2001: .158, .131
2002: .175, .143
2003: .190, .154
2004: .230, .186
2005: .255, .206
2006: .265, .215
2007: .235, .192
2008: .191, .155
2009: .217, .175

2010: .281, .226

Quarterly figures

2010
First quarter: .274, .220
Second quarter: .279, .224
Third quarter: .284, .229
Fourth quarter: .287, .231

2011
First quarter: .285, .230
Second quarter: .290, .234