Some interesting statistics on US workers earning the minimum wage from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by way of my friends Bruce Bartlett and Jim Carter. A few factoids for you to chew on.
Minimum wage workers tend to be young. About half of all hourly-paid workers earning $5.15 or less were under age 25, and about one-fourth were age 16-19. Among teenagers, about 9 percent earned $5.15 or less. About 2 percent of workers age 25 and over earned the minimum wage or less. Among those age 65 and over, the proportion was 4 percent.
62% of minimum-wage workers work part-time. 7% of part-time workers earn minimum wage.
29% have less than a high school diploma.
60% are employed in the hospitality industry.
2.7% of all workers paid earn minimum wage today, down from 3.6% in 2000 and 8.4% in 1992 and 15.1% percent when the Gipper took office.
JR
In some states, like Washington, min. wage is above $7 per hour- seems better than $5, plus our employment stats have gotten better too.
Lucy Chambers
Lucy,
Washington is in a good position to benefit from the growth in Asia. Good point.
John