Facts and General Statistics from 2010 Regarding Minimum Wage Workers

General Information 1.8 million earned exactly the prevailing Federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. About 2.5 million had wages below the minimum. Together, these 4.4 million workers with wages at or below the Federal minimum made up 6.0 percent of all hourly-paid workers (not salary workers).

General Information The US labor force in 2010 was approximately 153,893,000 workers The US population in 2010 was approximately 306,000,000 people The 4.4 million workers make up 1.44% of the entire US population or 2.86% of the US labor force.

Who Makes Minimum Wage?

General Information Workers under age 25 they made up about half of those paid the Federal minimum wage or less. Nearly one-half of all workers paid at or below the Federal minimum wage were employed primarily in restaurants and other food services (leisure and hospitality industry).

General Information The states with the highest percentage of minimum wage workers included Mississippi, Texas, Alabama, and West Virginia. The States with the lowest percentage of minimum wage workers included Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and California.

Impact on Employment 2016, the $10.10 option would reduce total employment by about 500,000 workers The increased earnings for low-wage workers resulting from the higher minimum wage would total $31 billion, by CBO’s estimate. However, those earnings would not go only to low-income families, because many low-wage workers are not members of low-income families. Just 19 percent of the $31 billion would accrue to families with earnings below the poverty threshold, whereas 29 percent would accrue to families earning more than three times the poverty threshold. http://www.cbo.gov/publication/44995

http://www.bls.gov/cps/minwage2010.htm