| A
federal
minimum wage
was first set in 1938. The graph shows
nominal (blue diamonds) and real (red squares) minimum wage
values. Nominal values
range from $0.25/hr
in 1938 to the current $7.25/hr.
The
graph adjusts these wages to 2010 dollars (red squares) to show
the
real value of the minimum wage. Calculated in real 2010 dollars, the
1968
minimum
wage was
the highest at $10.04. The
real dollar minimum wage (red squares) falls during periods Congress
does not raise the minimum wage to keep up with inflation.
The minimum wage increased in three $0.70 increments--to
$5.85 in July, 2007,
$6.55 in July, 2008, and to $7.25 in July 2009.
Many states have departed from the federal minimum wage. Washington's minimum wage is highest, advancing to $9.04, January 1, 2012. Oregon's minimum wage is $8.80; Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, and Nevada are $8.25; Vermont is $8.15; California and Massachusetts currently have minimum wages of $8.00. | |||
![[graph]](minwage.jpg) | |||
| Multiplying the minimum wage by a work year of 50, 40-hour weeks gives the annual earnings that can be expected from a minimum wage job. The real annual income from a minimum wage job is the blue bars. The red line is the poverty level real annual income for a family of four. Minimum wages have never been sufficient to raise a family out of poverty, if only one member of the family works. | |||
![[graph]](minpov.jpg)
| |||
| The minimum wage has varied from a maximum of 90% of the poverty level in 1968 and has averaged two thirds of the poverty level since 1959, when the poverty level was established. The the lowest percentage the annual income from the minimum wage has been of the poverty level was 2006, just before Congress raised it for the first time in a decade. This is the longest period during which the minimum wage has not been adjusted | |||
![[graph]](minperpov.jpg)
| |||
As minimum wages have declined in real terms,
the percent of workers covered, too, has declined. Over 130 cities now
have "living
wages."
![[graph]](MinWagCover.jpg)
"Minimum Wage Coverage" is the percentage of workers
receiving minimum wage. Sources: U.S. Bureau of the Census;
U.S.
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics; Statistical Abstract of
the
United States; and
Survey of Current Business. | For details: Smith
1989 | |
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Updated:Wednesday, 09-Nov-2011 10:04:29 PST
URL is http://www.orst.edu/instruct/anth484/minwage.html