In 2022, about 882,000 workers were paid hourly rates below the official minimum wage in the United States. 2020 saw the lowest number of workers paid below minimum wage in the U.S. since 1979.
Number of wage and salary workers in the United States paid hourly rates below the prevailing Federal minimum wage from 1979 to 2022
(in 1,000s)
The prevailing Federal minimum wage was $2.90 in 1979, $3.10 in 1980, and $3.35 in 1981–89. The minimum wage rose to $3.80 in April 1990, to $4.25 in April 1991, to $4.75 in October 1996, to $5.15 in September 1997, to $5.85 in July 2007, to $6.55 in July 2008, and to $7.25 in July 2009. In 2021, the prevailing federal minimum wage was $7.25 per hour.
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Bureau of Labor Statistics. (January 1, 2024). Number of wage and salary workers in the United States paid hourly rates below the prevailing Federal minimum wage from 1979 to 2022 (in 1,000s) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved November 22, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/188196/wage-and-salary-workers-paid-below-minimum-wage-since-1979/
Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Number of wage and salary workers in the United States paid hourly rates below the prevailing Federal minimum wage from 1979 to 2022 (in 1,000s)." Chart. January 1, 2024. Statista. Accessed November 22, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/188196/wage-and-salary-workers-paid-below-minimum-wage-since-1979/
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2024). Number of wage and salary workers in the United States paid hourly rates below the prevailing Federal minimum wage from 1979 to 2022 (in 1,000s). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: November 22, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/188196/wage-and-salary-workers-paid-below-minimum-wage-since-1979/
Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Number of Wage and Salary Workers in The United States Paid Hourly Rates below The Prevailing Federal Minimum Wage from 1979 to 2022 (in 1,000s)." Statista, Statista Inc., 1 Jan 2024, https://www.statista.com/statistics/188196/wage-and-salary-workers-paid-below-minimum-wage-since-1979/
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Number of wage and salary workers in the United States paid hourly rates below the prevailing Federal minimum wage from 1979 to 2022 (in 1,000s) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/188196/wage-and-salary-workers-paid-below-minimum-wage-since-1979/ (last visited November 22, 2024)
Number of wage and salary workers in the United States paid hourly rates below the prevailing Federal minimum wage from 1979 to 2022 (in 1,000s) [Graph], Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 1, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/188196/wage-and-salary-workers-paid-below-minimum-wage-since-1979/