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ECONOMY MATTERS ECONOMIC RESEARCH A Story in Charts: Who Works for Minimum Wage? November 12, 2015 ANNUAL REPORT ECONOMIC RESEARCH BANKING & FINANCE REGIONAL ECONOMICS COMM/ECON DEV INSIDE THE FED DEPARTMENTS Financial Tips Podcast Quizzes Staff & Credits Subscribe to e-mail updates Editor's note: The data in this article were updated on July 27, 2016, to reflect annual revisions to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers. How many minimum wage workers are there? In 2015, 3.3 percent of hourly workers age 16 or older earned the minimum wage of $7.25 or less (not including tips). The share of hourly workers paid at or below the federal minimum wage has fallen from highs in the early 1980s and since the last increase in July 2009. 2015 U.S. wage and salary workers Export 3.3% or 2.6 million workers make at or below federal minimum wage of $7.25 Salary workers 41.5% Paid hourly (78.2 million workers) 58.5% Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers, 2015 Share of hourly U.S. workers at or below minimum wage Export 16 $6 8 $4 0 $2 2014 2015 2013 2011 2012 2010 2009 2007 2008 2006 2005 2003 2004 2002 2000 2001 1998 1999 1996 1997 1995 1994 1992 1993 1991 1990 1988 1989 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1981 1982 1980 1979 Percent $8 Federal minimum wage 24 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers, 2015 Who works for minimum wage? Minimum wage workers tend to be young, female, and have lower levels of education. More than half of these workers are in the leisure and hospitality industry, and most work part-time (people who usually work fewer than 35 hours a week). By gender Export Men 37.4% Women 62.6% Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers, 2015 By hours Export Not identifiable 0.3% Full-time 42.0% Part-time 57.7% Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers, 2015 By education Export Associate degree, occupational or academic program 7.5% Bachelor's degree or other High school graduates, no college 10.6% 34.1% Less than high school degree 21.7% Some college, Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers, 2015 By age Export 65+ 2.0% 55–64 7.3% 45–54 10.1% 16–24 45.0% 35–44 12.3% 25–34 23.3% Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers, 2015 By industry Export 57.0% Leisure and hospitality 13.5% Wholesale and retail trade 8.3% Education and health service 4.0% Other services Professional and business services 3.6% Manufacturing 3.5% 1.7% Transportation and utilities Agriculture and related industries 1.1% Construction 1.0% Financial activities 0.9% Information 0.7% 0.1% Mining 0 10 20 30 40 50 Percent Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers, 2015 Where do minimum wage workers live? The map below depicts the concentration of hourly wage workers making at or below the federal minimum wage. We easily see that they are concentrated in the South. 60 Share of minimum wage workers Those states shaded in red have a higher share of hourly workers making at or below the federal minimum wage than the average U.S. share of 3.3 percent in 2015, and those in green have a lower share of hourly workers making at or below the federal minimum wage. Share 0.7 6.4 © 2024 Mapbox © OpenStreetMap Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Department of Labor Which states exceed the federal minimum wage? As noted above, the share of hourly workers making minimum wage or less has declined since 2009, when the federal minimum wage rose to $7.25. During this time, more states adopted a state minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage, which contributed to the decline in the share of workers making minimum wage or less. As you scroll through the years from 2010 on, you can see as more states adopt a higher minimum wage. (See the Department of Labor’s history of states’ minimum wages.) States with miniumum wage higher than federal minimum wage Year: 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 © 2024 Mapbox © OpenStreetMap Source: U.S. Department of Labor Lela Somoza Financial analyst in the Atlanta Fed's Retail Payments Office Whitney Mancuso Senior Economic Research Analyst
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