Although workers under age 25 represented just under one-fifth of hourly paid workers, they made up 48 percent of those paid the federal minimum wage or less. Among employed teenagers (ages 16 to 19) paid by the hour, about 5 percent earned the minimum wage or less, compared with 1 percent of workers age 25 and older.

What percentage of workers are teenagers?

Minimum Wage Worker Demographics Teenage hourly employees from ages 16 and 19 represented about 10 percent of those earning the minimum wage or less, compared with about 2 percent of workers age 25 and older.

What percentage of minimum wage workers live in poverty?

Overall, in low states, 13.8 percent of workers in these industries are in poverty, compared with 10.2 percent in one fair wage states. Tipped workers specifically see an even steeper decline, with 14.8 percent in poverty in low states compared with 11 percent in one fair wage states.

How many people make less than 20 an hour?

The chart, shown above, shows that 19% of workers make less than $12.50 per hour, 32% of workers make between $12.50 and $20 per hour, 30% make between $20 and $30 an hour, 14% make between $30 and $45 per hour, and 5% make over $45 an hour.

How many employees work for minimum wage?

Among those paid by the hour, 542,000 workers earned exactly the prevailing federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. About 1.3 million had wages below the federal minimum. Together, these 1.8 million workers with wages at or below the federal minimum made up 2.3 percent of all hourly paid workers.

Who mostly works minimum wage jobs?

The BLS report finds that almost three quarters of minimum wage workers are white (72.6%), 17.9% are black, and 5.1% are Asian. The report also shows the breakout of minimum wage workers by industry. The leisure and hospitality industry employs the most, encapsulating 64.4% of all minimum wage workers.

What percentage of minimum wage workers are adults?

In 2020, around 47.6% wage and salary workers paid hourly rates at or below the federal minimum wage were aged between 16 to 24 years….

Is 7.25 a living wage?

The minimum wage in the United States is no longer a living wage. Even though many states are paying more than this amount, minimum-wage earners continue to struggle to make ends meet. At $7.25, the federal minimum wage hasn’t kept up with the cost of living in more than half a century.

What is considered low wage?

Therefore, for this study, the definition of a low wage worker is someone who earns an hourly wage of less than $15.81. We note that based on the California Poverty Measure, 22% of households in Santa Cruz County fall below the poverty line.

What states have minimum wage?

Minimum Wage By State In The United States. A network of federal, state, and local statutes have set the minimum wage of US states with Washington and Massachusetts having the highest in the country.

Which state has the lowest minimum wage?

The two states with the lowest minimum wage are Georgia ($5.15) and Wyoming ($5.15). However, employers in Georgia and Wyoming who are subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act must still pay the $7.25 Federal minimum wage.

Can you get paid under minimum wage?

Yes, nearly every worker is required to be paid minimum wage. There are some exceptions, such as senior care workers that only provide companionship services. But the general rule of thumb is that if you are working for a family caring for a loved one, you should be earning at least minimum wage for each hour you work.

What is the lowest minimum wage in the US?

The lowest minimum wage a state can have is the Federal minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 per hour. The following 23 states either adopt the Federal minimum wage, or have no state minimum wage law: