Women’s Wages Catching Up To Men In New Jersey [AUDIO]

It may be good for women, but not so good for men. Professional women in New Jersey earned a record 85 cents for every dollar made by men in 2010.

The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics said that's up from about 74 cents since 2004.

Full-time working women in the Garden State had weekly earnings of $824, compared with $972 for men who worked full-time. "During the last couple of years, men's earnings have really suffered as a result of the recession," said James Hughes, Rutgers Economist. "A lot of physical type jobs were lost, particularly in construction."

"Women were employed in areas that were less hard hit," said Hughes. "Particularly health care which kept growing throughout the recession. We've seen a structural change in the economy that has been good for women, but not as good for men who are not college educated."

So, what does this mean in the long run? "It's too early to tell if the growth in women's wages will be a longer-term trend or where the future sectors of growth will be," said Hughes. "But, most likely they will be much more oriented toward those who have a college degree and right now, women make up a majority of the current college enrollment."

The Bureau of Labor Statistics finds that nationally, women earned a median $669 per week, which is about 81% of the amount earned by men who brought in $824 per week.