Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers: 2005

Tables 1 - 10

Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage, 2005 annual averages:

1. by selected characteristics
2. by census region and division
3. by State
4. by major occupation group
5. by major industry group
6. by educational attainment
7. by age and sex
8. by marital status, age, and sex
9. by usual hours worked per week
10. by sex (1979-2005 annual averages)

Table 1. Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage by selected characteristics, 2005 annual averages

Characteristic	Number of workers (in thousands)				Percent distribution				Percent of workers paid hourly rates
	Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15 per hour			Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15 per hour			At or below $5.15 per hour
		Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15		Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15
AGE AND SEX
Total, 16 years and over	75,609	1,882	479	1,403	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.5	0.6	1.9
16 to 24 years	16,374	1,003	283	720	21.7	53.3	59.1	51.3	6.1	1.7	4.4
16 to 19 years	5,528	491	179	312	7.3	26.1	37.4	22.2	8.9	3.2	5.6
25 years and over	59,235	879	196	683	78.3	46.7	40.9	48.7	1.5	0.3	1.2
Men, 16 years and over	37,652	648	189	459	49.8	34.4	39.5	32.7	1.7	0.5	1.2
16 to 24 years	8,288	353	130	223	11.0	18.8	27.1	15.9	4.3	1.6	2.7
16 to 19 years	2,654	172	86	86	3.5	9.1	18.0	6.1	6.5	3.2	3.2
25 years and over	29,364	296	60	236	38.8	15.7	12.5	16.8	1.0	0.2	0.8
Women, 16 years and over	37,957	1,234	290	944	50.2	65.6	60.5	67.3	3.3	0.8	2.5
16 to 24 years	8,086	649	153	496	10.7	34.5	31.9	35.4	8.0	1.9	6.1
16 to 19 years	2,874	318	93	225	3.8	16.9	19.4	16.0	11.1	3.2	7.8
25 years and over	29,871	584	137	447	39.5	31.0	28.6	31.9	2.0	0.5	1.5
RACE, SEX, AND HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY
White (1)	60,978	1,537	349	1,188	80.6	81.7	72.9	84.7	2.5	0.6	1.9
Men	30,901	485	133	352	40.9	25.8	27.8	25.1	1.6	0.4	1.1
Women	30,078	1,052	216	836	39.8	55.9	45.1	59.6	3.5	0.7	2.8
Black or African American (1)	9,793	215	96	119	13.0	11.4	20.0	8.5	2.2	1.0	1.2
Men	4,421	105	42	63	5.8	5.6	8.8	4.5	2.4	1.0	1.4
Women	5,372	111	54	57	7.1	5.9	11.3	4.1	2.1	1.0	1.1
Asian (1)	2,720	65	14	51	3.6	3.5	2.9	3.6	2.4	0.5	1.9
Men	1,283	30	5	25	1.7	1.6	1.0	1.8	2.3	0.4	1.9
Women	1,437	35	9	26	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.9	2.4	0.6	1.8
Hispanic or Latino (1)	12,527	281	71	210	16.6	14.9	14.8	15.0	2.2	0.6	1.7
Men	7,467	114	29	85	9.9	6.1	6.1	6.1	1.5	0.4	1.1
Women	5,060	167	42	125	6.7	8.9	8.8	8.9	3.3	0.8	2.5
FULL- AND PART-TIME STATUS AND SEX
Full-time workers (2)	57,385	751	143	608	75.9	39.9	29.9	43.3	1.3	0.2	1.1
Men	31,911	321	69	252	42.2	17.1	14.4	18.0	1.0	0.2	0.8
Women	25,474	430	74	356	33.7	22.8	15.4	25.4	1.7	0.3	1.4
Part-time workers (2)	18,084	1,126	336	790	23.9	59.8	70.1	56.3	6.2	1.9	4.4
Men	5,669	327	120	207	7.5	17.4	25.1	14.8	5.8	2.1	3.7
Women	12,415	799	216	583	16.4	42.5	45.1	41.6	6.4	1.7	4.7

1 Detail for the race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) will not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as race.

2 The distinction between full- and part-time workers is based on hours usually worked. These data will not sum to totals because full- or part-time status on the principal job is not identifiable for a small number of multiple jobholders.

NOTE: Data exclude all the self-employed, both unincorporated and incorporated.

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Table 2. Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage by census region and division, 2005 annual averages

Region and division	Number of workers (in thousands)				Percent distribution				Percent of workers paid hourly rates
	Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15 per hour			Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15 per hour			At or below $5.15 per hour
		Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15		Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15
Total, 16 years and over	75,609	1,882	479	1,403	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.5	0.6	1.9
Northeast	13,284	302	61	241	17.6	16.0	12.7	17.2	2.3	0.5	1.8
New England	3,836	71	9	62	5.1	3.8	1.9	4.4	1.9	0.2	1.6
Middle Atlantic	9,448	232	52	180	12.5	12.3	10.9	12.8	2.5	0.6	1.9
North Central	18,879	502	112	390	25.0	26.7	23.4	27.8	2.7	0.6	2.1
East North Central	13,015	341	65	276	17.2	18.1	13.6	19.7	2.6	0.5	2.1
West North Central	5,864	160	46	114	7.8	8.5	9.6	8.1	2.7	0.8	1.9
South	26,138	813	232	581	34.6	43.2	48.4	41.4	3.1	0.9	2.2
South Atlantic	13,578	388	83	305	18.0	20.6	17.3	21.7	2.9	0.6	2.2
East South Central	4,442	145	51	94	5.9	7.7	10.6	6.7	3.3	1.1	2.1
West South Central	8,118	279	97	182	10.7	14.8	20.3	13.0	3.4	1.2	2.2
West	17,309	266	75	191	22.9	14.1	15.7	13.6	1.5	0.4	1.1
Mountain	5,237	158	52	106	6.9	8.4	10.9	7.6	3.0	1.0	2.0
Pacific	12,071	108	23	85	16.0	5.7	4.8	6.1	0.9	0.2	0.7

NOTE: Data exclude all the self-employed, both unincorporated and incorporated.

The four major regions and nine census divisions of the United States are as follows:

• Northeast:
  • New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont
  • Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania
• Midwest:
  • East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin
  • West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota
• South:
  • South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia
  • East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee
  • West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas
• West:
  • Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming
  • Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington

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Table 3. Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage by State, 2005 annual averages

State	Number of workers (in thousands)				Percent distribution				Percent of workers paid hourly rates
	Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15 per hour			Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15 per hour			At or below $5.15 per hour
		Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15		Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15
Total, 16 years and over	75,609	1,882	479	1,403	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.5	0.6	1.9
Alabama	1,152	36	16	20	1.5	1.9	3.3	1.4	3.1	1.4	1.7
Alaska	192	1	-	1	0.3	0.1	-	0.1	0.5	-	0.5
Arizona	1,396	47	11	36	1.8	2.5	2.3	2.6	3.4	0.8	2.6
Arkansas	700	25	14	11	0.9	1.3	2.9	0.8	3.6	2.0	1.6
California	8,846	82	20	62	11.7	4.4	4.2	4.4	0.9	0.2	0.7
Colorado	1,131	34	9	25	1.5	1.8	1.9	1.8	3.0	0.8	2.2
Connecticut	892	9	1	8	1.2	0.5	0.2	0.6	1.0	0.1	0.9
Delaware	219	4	1	3	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2	1.8	0.5	1.4
District of Columbia	110	2	-	2	0.1	0.1	-	0.1	1.8	-	1.8
Florida	4,404	117	12	105	5.8	6.2	2.5	7.5	2.7	0.3	2.4
Georgia	2,060	66	14	52	2.7	3.5	2.9	3.7	3.2	0.7	2.5
Hawaii	341	4	-	4	0.4	0.3	-	0.3	1.2	-	1.2
Idaho	415	12	4	8	0.5	0.6	0.8	0.6	2.9	1.0	1.9
Illinois	3,207	77	12	65	4.2	4.1	2.5	4.6	2.4	0.4	2.0
Indiana	1,794	37	6	31	2.4	2.0	1.3	2.2	2.1	0.3	1.7
Iowa	922	20	4	16	1.2	1.1	0.8	1.1	2.2	0.4	1.7
Kansas	770	27	8	19	1.0	1.4	1.7	1.4	3.5	1.0	2.5
Kentucky	1,120	35	9	26	1.5	1.9	1.9	1.9	3.1	0.8	2.3
Louisiana	1,109	42	18	24	1.5	2.2	3.8	1.7	3.8	1.6	2.2
Maine	409	8	1	7	0.5	0.4	0.2	0.5	2.0	0.2	1.7
Maryland	1,318	28	2	26	1.7	1.5	0.4	1.9	2.1	0.2	2.0
Massachusetts	1,666	31	4	27	2.2	1.6	0.8	1.9	1.9	0.2	1.6
Michigan	2,869	88	16	72	3.8	4.7	3.3	5.1	3.1	0.6	2.5
Minnesota	1,593	29	11	18	2.1	1.5	2.3	1.3	1.8	0.7	1.1
Mississippi	664	23	8	15	0.9	1.2	1.7	1.1	3.5	1.2	2.3
Missouri	1,613	56	15	41	2.1	3.0	3.1	2.9	3.5	0.9	2.5
Montana	278	6	4	2	0.4	0.3	0.8	0.1	2.2	1.4	0.7
Nebraska	544	17	5	12	0.7	0.9	1.0	0.9	3.1	0.9	2.2
Nevada	684	19	10	9	0.9	1.0	2.1	0.6	2.8	1.5	1.3
New Hampshire	377	11	2	9	0.5	0.6	0.4	0.6	2.9	0.5	2.4
New Jersey	1,922	40	9	31	2.5	2.1	1.9	2.2	2.1	0.5	1.6
New Mexico	505	18	8	10	0.7	1.0	1.7	0.7	3.6	1.6	2.0
New York	4,186	95	18	77	5.5	5.0	3.8	5.5	2.3	0.4	1.8
North Carolina	2,176	58	13	45	2.9	3.1	2.7	3.2	2.7	0.6	2.1
North Dakota	183	4	1	3	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	2.2	0.5	1.6
Ohio	3,403	111	26	85	4.5	5.9	5.4	6.1	3.3	0.8	2.5
Oklahoma	841	36	10	26	1.1	1.9	2.1	1.9	4.3	1.2	3.1
Oregon	959	10	1	9	1.3	0.5	0.2	0.6	1.0	0.1	0.9
Pennsylvania	3,340	97	25	72	4.4	5.2	5.2	5.1	2.9	0.7	2.2
Rhode Island	309	8	-	8	0.4	0.4	-	0.6	2.6	-	2.6
South Carolina	1,073	34	10	24	1.4	1.8	2.1	1.7	3.2	0.9	2.2
South Dakota	240	9	3	6	0.3	0.5	0.6	0.4	3.8	1.2	2.5
Tennesee	1,506	51	17	34	2.0	2.7	3.5	2.4	3.4	1.1	2.3
Texas	5,467	176	55	121	7.2	9.4	11.5	8.6	3.2	1.0	2.2
Utah	677	16	4	12	0.9	0.9	0.8	0.9	2.4	0.6	1.8
Vermont	182	3	-	3	0.2	0.2	-	0.2	1.6	-	1.6
Virginia	1,753	60	22	38	2.3	3.2	4.6	2.7	3.4	1.3	2.2
Washington	1,733	10	1	9	2.3	0.5	0.2	0.6	0.6	0.1	0.5
West Virginia	466	20	10	10	0.6	1.1	2.1	0.7	4.3	2.1	2.1
Wisconsin	1,743	27	5	22	2.3	1.4	1.0	1.6	1.5	0.3	1.3
Wyoming	150	4	1	3	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	2.7	0.7	2.0

NOTE: Data exclude all the self-employed, both unincorporated and incorporated. Users are reminded that these data are based on a sample and are therefore subject to sampling error; the degree of error may be quite large for less populous States. It is not possible to clearly determine whether workers surveyed in the CPS are actually covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) or by individual State minimum wage laws. Thus, some workers reported as earning an hourly wage of $5.15 may not in fact be covered by Federal or State minimum wage laws. At the same time, the presence of a sizable number of workers with wages below the prevailing Federal minimum wage does not necessarily indicate violations of the FLSA or applicable State laws, because there are numerous exclusions and exemptions to these minimum wage statutes. Dash indicates no data or data that do not meet publication criteria.

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Table 4. Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage by major occupation group, 2005 annual averages

Occupation	Number of workers (in thousands)				Percent distribution				Percent of workers paid hourly rates
	Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15 per hour			Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15 per hour			At or below $5.15 per hour
		Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15		Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15
Total, 16 years and over	75,609	1,882	479	1,403	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.5	0.6	1.9
Management, professional, and related occupations	14,258	72	26	46	18.9	3.8	5.4	3.3	0.5	0.2	0.3
Management, business, and financial operations occupations	3,893	22	7	15	5.1	1.2	1.5	1.1	0.6	0.2	0.4
Professional and related occupations	10,366	51	19	32	13.7	2.7	4.0	2.3	0.5	0.2	0.3
Service occupations	16,751	1,394	242	1,152	22.2	74.1	50.5	82.1	8.3	1.4	6.9
Healthcare support occupations	2,565	40	6	34	3.4	2.1	1.3	2.4	1.6	0.2	1.3
Protective service occupations	1,775	21	4	17	2.3	1.1	0.8	1.2	1.2	0.2	1.0
Food preparation and serving related occupations	6,493	1,131	165	966	8.6	60.1	34.4	68.9	17.4	2.5	14.9
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	3,590	89	34	55	4.7	4.7	7.1	3.9	2.5	0.9	1.5
Personal care and service occupations	2,328	113	32	81	3.1	6.0	6.7	5.8	4.9	1.4	3.5
Sales and office occupations	20,930	240	136	104	27.7	12.8	28.4	7.4	1.1	0.6	0.5
Sales and related occupations	7,612	142	77	65	10.1	7.5	16.1	4.6	1.9	1.0	0.9
Office and administrative support occupations	13,318	98	59	39	17.6	5.2	12.3	2.8	0.7	0.4	0.3
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	9,900	48	18	30	13.1	2.6	3.8	2.1	0.5	0.2	0.3
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	623	14	7	7	0.8	0.7	1.5	0.5	2.2	1.1	1.1
Construction and extraction occupations	5,828	18	6	12	7.7	1.0	1.3	0.9	0.3	0.1	0.2
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	3,449	16	5	11	4.6	0.9	1.0	0.8	0.5	0.1	0.3
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	13,770	128	57	71	18.2	6.8	11.9	5.1	0.9	0.4	0.5
Production occupations	7,658	47	19	28	10.1	2.5	4.0	2.0	0.6	0.2	0.4
Transportation and material moving occupations	6,112	81	38	43	8.1	4.3	7.9	3.1	1.3	0.6	0.7

NOTE: Data exclude all the self-employed, both unincorporated and incorporated.

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Table 5. Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage by major industry group, 2005 annual averages

Industry	Number of workers (in thousands)				Percent distribution				Percent of workers paid hourly rates
	Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15 per hour			Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15 per hour			At or below $5.15 per hour
		Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15		Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15
Total, 16 years and over	75,609	1,882	479	1,403	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.5	0.6	1.9
Private sector	66,135	1,782	438	1,344	87.5	94.7	91.4	95.8	2.7	0.7	2.0
Agriculture and related industries	641	15	8	7	0.8	0.8	1.7	0.5	2.3	1.2	1.1
Nonagricultural industries	65,495	1,767	430	1,337	86.6	93.9	89.8	95.3	2.7	0.7	2.0
Mining	390	-	-	-	0.5	-	-	-	-	-	-
Construction	5,897	19	4	15	7.8	1.0	0.8	1.1	0.3	0.1	0.3
Manufacturing	10,299	39	14	25	13.6	2.1	2.9	1.8	0.4	0.1	0.2
Durable goods	6,462	18	3	15	8.5	1.0	0.6	1.1	0.3	0.0	0.2
Nondurable goods	3,837	20	10	10	5.1	1.1	2.1	0.7	0.5	0.3	0.3
Wholesale and retail trade	12,765	181	100	81	16.9	9.6	20.9	5.8	1.4	0.8	0.6
Wholesale trade	2,044	7	4	3	2.7	0.4	0.8	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.1
Retail trade	10,721	174	96	78	14.2	9.2	20.0	5.6	1.6	0.9	0.7
Transportation and utilities	3,029	22	7	15	4.0	1.2	1.5	1.1	0.7	0.2	0.5
Information	1,406	16	7	9	1.9	0.9	1.5	0.6	1.1	0.5	0.6
Financial activities	3,366	17	9	8	4.5	0.9	1.9	0.6	0.5	0.3	0.2
Professional and business services	5,537	59	19	40	7.3	3.1	4.0	2.9	1.1	0.3	0.7
Education and health services	11,335	126	38	88	15.0	6.7	7.9	6.3	1.1	0.3	0.8
Leisure and hospitality	8,420	1,201	197	1,004	11.1	63.8	41.1	71.6	14.3	2.3	11.9
Other services	3,051	87	35	52	4.0	4.6	7.3	3.7	2.9	1.1	1.7
Public sector	9,474	100	41	59	12.5	5.3	8.6	4.2	1.1	0.4	0.6
Federal	1,892	14	8	6	2.5	0.7	1.7	0.4	0.7	0.4	0.3
State	2,464	25	11	14	3.3	1.3	2.3	1.0	1.0	0.4	0.6
Local	5,118	61	21	40	6.8	3.2	4.4	2.9	1.2	0.4	0.8

NOTE: Data exclude all the self-employed, both unincorporated and incorporated. Dash indicates no data or data that do not meet publication criteria.

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Table 6. Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage by educational attainment, 2005 annual averages

Educational attainment	Number of workers (in thousands)				Percent distribution				Percent of workers paid hourly rates
	Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15 per hour			Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15 per hour			At or below $5.15 per hour
		Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15		Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15
Total, 16 years and over	75,609	1,882	479	1,403	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.5	0.6	1.9
Less than a high school diploma	12,647	561	211	350	16.7	29.8	44.1	24.9	4.4	1.7	2.8
Less than 1 year of high school	3,576	91	32	59	4.7	4.8	6.7	4.2	2.5	0.9	1.6
1 to 3 years of high school	7,800	439	170	269	10.3	23.3	35.5	19.2	5.6	2.2	3.4
4 years of high school, no diploma	1,271	32	9	23	1.7	1.7	1.9	1.6	2.5	0.7	1.8
High school graduates or more	62,963	1,321	268	1,053	83.3	70.2	55.9	75.1	2.1	0.4	1.7
High school graduates, no college	27,622	547	129	418	36.5	29.1	26.9	29.8	2.0	0.5	1.5
Some college or associate degree	24,654	645	120	525	32.6	34.3	25.1	37.4	2.6	0.5	2.1
Some college, no degree	16,857	536	97	439	22.3	28.5	20.3	31.3	3.2	0.6	2.6
Associate degree	7,797	109	23	86	10.3	5.8	4.8	6.1	1.4	0.3	1.1
Occupational program	4,301	52	10	42	5.7	2.8	2.1	3.0	1.2	0.2	1.0
Academic program	3,496	57	13	44	4.6	3.0	2.7	3.1	1.6	0.4	1.3
College graduates, total	10,687	127	18	109	14.1	6.7	3.8	7.8	1.2	0.2	1.0
Bachelor's degree	8,485	113	17	96	11.2	6.0	3.5	6.8	1.3	0.2	1.1
Master's degree	1,702	12	1	11	2.3	0.6	0.2	0.8	0.7	0.1	0.6
Professional degree	311	1	-	1	0.4	0.1	-	0.1	0.3	-	0.3
Doctoral degree	188	2	-	2	0.2	0.1	-	0.1	1.1	-	1.1

NOTE: Data exclude all the self-employed, both unincorporated and incorporated. Dash indicates no data or data that do not meet publication criteria.

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Table 7. Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage by age and sex, 2005 annual averages

Age and sex	Number of workers (in thousands)				Percent distribution				Percent of workers paid hourly rates
	Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15 per hour			Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15 per hour			At or below $5.15 per hour
		Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15		Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15
BOTH SEXES
Total, 16 years and over	75,609	1,882	479	1,403	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.5	0.6	1.9
Under 25 years	16,374	1,003	283	720	21.7	53.3	59.1	51.3	6.1	1.7	4.4
16 to 19 years	5,528	491	179	312	7.3	26.1	37.4	22.2	8.9	3.2	5.6
20 to 24 years	10,846	512	104	408	14.3	27.2	21.7	29.1	4.7	1.0	3.8
25 years and over	59,235	879	196	683	78.3	46.7	40.9	48.7	1.5	0.3	1.2
25 to 34 years	16,779	373	67	306	22.2	19.8	14.0	21.8	2.2	0.4	1.8
25 to 29 years	8,692	229	38	191	11.5	12.2	7.9	13.6	2.6	0.4	2.2
30 to 34 years	8,088	144	28	116	10.7	7.7	5.8	8.3	1.8	0.3	1.4
35 to 44 years	16,761	208	39	169	22.2	11.1	8.1	12.0	1.2	0.2	1.0
35 to 39 years	7,992	107	23	84	10.6	5.7	4.8	6.0	1.3	0.3	1.1
40 to 44 years	8,769	101	16	85	11.6	5.4	3.3	6.1	1.2	0.2	1.0
45 to 54 years	15,419	164	30	134	20.4	8.7	6.3	9.6	1.1	0.2	0.9
45 to 49 years	8,417	100	19	81	11.1	5.3	4.0	5.8	1.2	0.2	1.0
50 to 54 years	7,002	64	11	53	9.3	3.4	2.3	3.8	0.9	0.2	0.8
55 to 64 years	8,015	79	37	42	10.6	4.2	7.7	3.0	1.0	0.5	0.5
55 to 59 years	5,163	46	18	28	6.8	2.4	3.8	2.0	0.9	0.3	0.5
60 to 64 years	2,851	32	18	14	3.8	1.7	3.8	1.0	1.1	0.6	0.5
65 years and over	2,261	56	24	32	3.0	3.0	5.0	2.3	2.5	1.1	1.4
65 to 69 years	1,236	22	10	12	1.6	1.2	2.1	0.9	1.8	0.8	1.0
70 years and over	1,025	34	14	20	1.4	1.8	2.9	1.4	3.3	1.4	2.0
MEN
Total, 16 years and over	37,652	648	189	459	49.8	34.4	39.5	32.7	1.7	0.5	1.2
Under 25 years	8,288	353	130	223	11.0	18.8	27.1	15.9	4.3	1.6	2.7
16 to 19 years	2,654	172	86	86	3.5	9.1	18.0	6.1	6.5	3.2	3.2
20 to 24 years	5,634	180	43	137	7.5	9.6	9.0	9.8	3.2	0.8	2.4
25 years and over	29,364	296	60	236	38.8	15.7	12.5	16.8	1.0	0.2	0.8
25 to 34 years	9,063	144	22	122	12.0	7.7	4.6	8.7	1.6	0.2	1.3
25 to 29 years	4,756	90	13	77	6.3	4.8	2.7	5.5	1.9	0.3	1.6
30 to 34 years	4,307	54	9	45	5.7	2.9	1.9	3.2	1.3	0.2	1.0
35 to 44 years	8,374	60	14	46	11.1	3.2	2.9	3.3	0.7	0.2	0.5
35 to 39 years	4,082	35	9	26	5.4	1.9	1.9	1.9	0.9	0.2	0.6
40 to 44 years	4,292	26	5	21	5.7	1.4	1.0	1.5	0.6	0.1	0.5
45 to 54 years	7,222	55	13	42	9.6	2.9	2.7	3.0	0.8	0.2	0.6
45 to 49 years	3,959	38	8	30	5.2	2.0	1.7	2.1	1.0	0.2	0.8
50 to 54 years	3,264	16	5	11	4.3	0.9	1.0	0.8	0.5	0.2	0.3
55 to 64 years	3,695	23	7	16	4.9	1.2	1.5	1.1	0.6	0.2	0.4
55 to 59 years	2,369	14	2	12	3.1	0.7	0.4	0.9	0.6	0.1	0.5
60 to 64 years	1,326	8	4	4	1.8	0.4	0.8	0.3	0.6	0.3	0.3
65 years and over	1,009	14	4	10	1.3	0.7	0.8	0.7	1.4	0.4	1.0
65 to 69 years	547	5	2	3	0.7	0.3	0.4	0.2	0.9	0.4	0.5
70 years and over	462	8	1	7	0.6	0.4	0.2	0.5	1.7	0.2	1.5
WOMEN
Total, 16 years and over	37,957	1,234	290	944	50.2	65.6	60.5	67.3	3.3	0.8	2.5
Under 25 years	8,086	649	153	496	10.7	34.5	31.9	35.4	8.0	1.9	6.1
16 to 19 years	2,874	318	93	225	3.8	16.9	19.4	16.0	11.1	3.2	7.8
20 to 24 years	5,212	331	60	271	6.9	17.6	12.5	19.3	6.4	1.2	5.2
25 years and over	29,871	584	137	447	39.5	31.0	28.6	31.9	2.0	0.5	1.5
25 to 34 years	7,716	230	45	185	10.2	12.2	9.4	13.2	3.0	0.6	2.4
25 to 29 years	3,936	140	26	114	5.2	7.4	5.4	8.1	3.6	0.7	2.9
30 to 34 years	3,781	89	19	70	5.0	4.7	4.0	5.0	2.4	0.5	1.9
35 to 44 years	8,387	147	25	122	11.1	7.8	5.2	8.7	1.8	0.3	1.5
35 to 39 years	3,910	72	14	58	5.2	3.8	2.9	4.1	1.8	0.4	1.5
40 to 44 years	4,477	76	12	64	5.9	4.0	2.5	4.6	1.7	0.3	1.4
45 to 54 years	8,197	110	17	93	10.8	5.8	3.5	6.6	1.3	0.2	1.1
45 to 49 years	4,459	62	11	51	5.9	3.3	2.3	3.6	1.4	0.2	1.1
50 to 54 years	3,738	47	5	42	4.9	2.5	1.0	3.0	1.3	0.1	1.1
55 to 64 years	4,319	56	30	26	5.7	3.0	6.3	1.9	1.3	0.7	0.6
55 to 59 years	2,794	33	16	17	3.7	1.8	3.3	1.2	1.2	0.6	0.6
60 to 64 years	1,525	24	14	10	2.0	1.3	2.9	0.7	1.6	0.9	0.7
65 years and over	1,252	42	20	22	1.7	2.2	4.2	1.6	3.4	1.6	1.8
65 to 69 years	689	17	8	9	0.9	0.9	1.7	0.6	2.5	1.2	1.3
70 years and over	563	26	13	13	0.7	1.4	2.7	0.9	4.6	2.3	2.3

NOTE: Data exclude all the self-employed, both unincorporated and incorporated.

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Table 8. Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage by marital status, age, and sex, 2005 annual averages

Marital status, age and sex	Number of workers (in thousands)				Percent distribution				Percent of workers paid hourly rates
	Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15 per hour			Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15 per hour			At or below $5.15 per hour
		Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15		Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15
BOTH SEXES
Total, 16 years and over	75,609	1,882	479	1,403	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.5	0.6	1.9
Never married	26,288	1,213	325	888	34.8	64.5	67.8	63.3	4.6	1.2	3.4
16 to 24 years	14,289	929	268	661	18.9	49.4	55.9	47.1	6.5	1.9	4.6
25 years and over	11,998	284	57	227	15.9	15.1	11.9	16.2	2.4	0.5	1.9
25 to 54 years	11,362	273	50	223	15.0	14.5	10.4	15.9	2.4	0.4	2.0
Married, spouse present	36,340	422	93	329	48.1	22.4	19.4	23.4	1.2	0.3	0.9
16 to 24 years	1,683	49	10	39	2.2	2.6	2.1	2.8	2.9	0.6	2.3
25 years and over	34,657	375	84	291	45.8	19.9	17.5	20.7	1.1	0.2	0.8
25 to 54 years	28,181	308	54	254	37.3	16.4	11.3	18.1	1.1	0.2	0.9
Other marital status	12,982	247	61	186	17.2	13.1	12.7	13.3	1.9	0.5	1.4
16 to 24 years	402	25	5	20	0.5	1.3	1.0	1.4	6.2	1.2	5.0
25 years and over	12,580	222	56	166	16.6	11.8	11.7	11.8	1.8	0.4	1.3
25 to 54 years	9,416	163	31	132	12.5	8.7	6.5	9.4	1.7	0.3	1.4
MEN
Total, 16 years and over	37,652	648	189	459	49.8	34.4	39.5	32.7	1.7	0.5	1.2
Never married	13,980	473	145	328	18.5	25.1	30.3	23.4	3.4	1.0	2.3
16 to 24 years	7,349	336	128	208	9.7	17.9	26.7	14.8	4.6	1.7	2.8
25 years and over	6,632	138	17	121	8.8	7.3	3.5	8.6	2.1	0.3	1.8
25 to 54 years	6,344	134	16	118	8.4	7.1	3.3	8.4	2.1	0.3	1.9
Married, spouse present	18,695	111	28	83	24.7	5.9	5.8	5.9	0.6	0.1	0.4
16 to 24 years	769	11	1	10	1.0	0.6	0.2	0.7	1.4	0.1	1.3
25 years and over	17,926	100	27	73	23.7	5.3	5.6	5.2	0.6	0.2	0.4
25 to 54 years	14,433	81	20	61	19.1	4.3	4.2	4.3	0.6	0.1	0.4
Other marital status	4,977	64	16	48	6.6	3.4	3.3	3.4	1.3	0.3	1.0
16 to 24 years	171	6	1	5	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.4	3.5	0.6	2.9
25 years and over	4,806	58	15	43	6.4	3.1	3.1	3.1	1.2	0.3	0.9
25 to 54 years	3,882	44	13	31	5.1	2.3	2.7	2.2	1.1	0.3	0.8
WOMEN
Total, 16 years and over	37,957	1,234	290	944	50.2	65.6	60.5	67.3	3.3	0.8	2.5
Never married	12,307	740	180	560	16.3	39.3	37.6	39.9	6.0	1.5	4.6
16 to 24 years	6,941	593	140	453	9.2	31.5	29.2	32.3	8.5	2.0	6.5
25 years and over	5,367	147	40	107	7.1	7.8	8.4	7.6	2.7	0.7	2.0
25 to 54 years	5,018	140	35	105	6.6	7.4	7.3	7.5	2.8	0.7	2.1
Married, spouse present	17,645	313	66	247	23.3	16.6	13.8	17.6	1.8	0.4	1.4
16 to 24 years	914	38	9	29	1.2	2.0	1.9	2.1	4.2	1.0	3.2
25 years and over	16,730	275	57	218	22.1	14.6	11.9	15.5	1.6	0.3	1.3
25 to 54 years	13,748	227	34	193	18.2	12.1	7.1	13.8	1.7	0.2	1.4
Other marital status	8,005	182	45	137	10.6	9.7	9.4	9.8	2.3	0.6	1.7
16 to 24 years	231	18	4	14	0.3	1.0	0.8	1.0	7.8	1.7	6.1
25 years and over	7,774	163	40	123	10.3	8.7	8.4	8.8	2.1	0.5	1.6
25 to 54 years	5,534	119	18	101	7.3	6.3	3.8	7.2	2.2	0.3	1.8

NOTE: Data exclude all the self-employed, both unincorporated and incorporated.

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Table 9. Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage by usual hours worked on primary job per week, 2005 annual averages

Usual hours worked per week on primary job	Number of workers (in thousands)				Percent distribution				Percent of workers paid hourly rates
	Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15 per hour			Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15 per hour			At or below $5.15 per hour
		Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15		Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15
Total, 16 years and over	75,609	1,882	479	1,403	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.5	0.6	1.9
Hours vary	5,695	273	55	218	7.5	14.5	11.5	15.5	4.8	1.0	3.8
0 to 34 hours	15,861	974	305	669	21.0	51.8	63.7	47.7	6.1	1.9	4.2
0 to 4 hours	324	20	5	15	0.4	1.1	1.0	1.1	6.2	1.5	4.6
5 to 9 hours	876	65	24	41	1.2	3.5	5.0	2.9	7.4	2.7	4.7
10 to 14 hours	1,427	104	41	63	1.9	5.5	8.6	4.5	7.3	2.9	4.4
15 to 19 hours	2,100	143	42	101	2.8	7.6	8.8	7.2	6.8	2.0	4.8
20 to 24 hours	4,796	291	114	177	6.3	15.5	23.8	12.6	6.1	2.4	3.7
25 to 29 hours	2,149	148	41	107	2.8	7.9	8.6	7.6	6.9	1.9	5.0
30 to 34 hours	4,189	202	37	165	5.5	10.7	7.7	11.8	4.8	0.9	3.9
35 hours or more	54,054	634	119	515	71.5	33.7	24.8	36.7	1.2	0.2	1.0
35 to 39 hours	5,330	187	38	149	7.0	9.9	7.9	10.6	3.5	0.7	2.8
40 hours or more	48,725	448	81	367	64.4	23.8	16.9	26.2	0.9	0.2	0.8
40 hours	41,954	380	63	317	55.5	20.2	13.2	22.6	0.9	0.2	0.8
41 hours or more	6,771	67	18	49	9.0	3.6	3.8	3.5	1.0	0.3	0.7
41 to 44 hours	826	3	1	2	1.1	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.4	0.1	0.2
45 to 48 hours	2,415	26	8	18	3.2	1.4	1.7	1.3	1.1	0.3	0.7
49 to 59 hours	2,518	20	5	15	3.3	1.1	1.0	1.1	0.8	0.2	0.6
60 hours or more	1,013	19	4	15	1.3	1.0	0.8	1.1	1.9	0.4	1.5

NOTE: Data exclude all the self-employed, both unincorporated and incorporated.

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Table 10. Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage by sex, 1979-2005 annual averages (Numbers in thousands)

Year and sex	Total wage and salary workers	Workers paid hourly rates
		Total	Percent of total wage and salary workers	Below prevailing Federal minimum wage	At prevailing Federal minimum wage	Total at or below prevailing Federal minimum wage
						Number	Percent of hourly paid workers
BOTH SEXES
1979	87,529	51,721	59.1	2,916	3,997	6,912	13.4
1980	87,644	51,335	58.6	3,087	4,686	7,773	15.1
1981	88,516	51,869	58.6	3,513	4,311	7,824	15.1
1982	87,368	50,846	58.2	2,348	4,148	6,496	12.8
1983	88,290	51,820	58.7	2,077	4,261	6,338	12.2
1984	92,194	54,143	58.7	1,838	4,125	5,963	11.0
1985	94,521	55,762	59.0	1,639	3,899	5,538	9.9
1986 (1)	96,903	57,529	59.4	1,599	3,461	5,060	8.8
1987	99,303	59,552	60.0	1,468	3,229	4,698	7.9
1988	101,407	60,878	60.0	1,319	2,608	3,927	6.5
1989	103,480	62,389	60.3	1,372	1,790	3,162	5.1
1990 (1)	104,876	63,172	60.2	2,132 (2)	1,096 (2)	3,228 (2)	5.1 (2)
1991	103,723	62,627	60.4	2,377 (2)	2,906 (2)	5,283 (2)	8.4 (2)
1992	104,668	63,610	60.8	1,939	2,982	4,921	7.7
1993	106,101	64,274	60.6	1,707	2,625	4,332	6.7
1994 (1)	107,989	66,549	61.6	1,995	2,132	4,128	6.2
1995	110,038	68,354	62.1	1,699	1,956	3,656	5.3
1996	111,960	69,255	61.9	1,863 (2)	1,861 (2)	3,724 (2)	5.4 (2)
1997 (1)	114,533	70,735	61.8	2,990 (2)	1,764 (2)	4,754 (2)	6.7 (2)
1998 (1)	116,730	71,440	61.2	2,834	1,593	4,427	6.2
1999 (1)	118,963	72,306	60.8	2,194	1,146	3,340	4.6
2000 (1)	122,089	73,496	60.2	1,752	898	2,650	3.6
2001	122,229	73,392	60.0	1,518	656	2,174	3.0
2002	121,826	72,508	59.5	1,579	567	2,146	3.0
2003 (1)	122,358	72,946	59.6	1,555	545	2,100	2.9
2004 (1)	123,554	73,939	59.8	1,483	520	2,003	2.7
2005	125,889	75,609	60.1	1,403	479	1,882	2.5
MEN
1979	49,400	28,392	57.5	846	1,353	2,199	7.7
1980	48,700	27,709	56.9	983	1,696	2,678	9.7
1981	48,844	27,576	56.5	1,119	1,533	2,652	9.6
1982	47,591	26,481	55.6	697	1,587	2,284	8.6
1983	47,856	26,831	56.1	585	1,658	2,243	8.4
1984	50,022	28,140	56.3	490	1,626	2,116	7.5
1985	51,015	28,893	56.6	440	1,544	1,984	6.9
1986 (1)	51,942	29,666	57.1	408	1,336	1,743	5.9
1987	52,938	30,474	57.6	364	1,283	1,647	5.4
1988	53,912	31,058	57.6	311	1,066	1,377	4.4
1989	54,789	31,687	57.8	379	733	1,112	3.5
1990 (1)	55,553	32,104	57.8	712 (2)	385 (2)	1,097 (2)	3.4 (2)
1991	54,618	31,639	57.9	795 (2)	1,114 (2)	1,909 (2)	6.0 (2)
1992	54,826	32,155	58.6	653	1,231	1,885	5.9
1993	55,475	32,337	58.3	573	1,091	1,664	5.1
1994 (1)	56,570	33,528	59.3	674	891	1,565	4.7
1995	57,669	34,420	59.7	542	796	1,338	3.9
1996	58,473	34,838	59.6	619 (2)	755 (2)	1,374 (2)	3.9 (2)
1997 (1)	59,825	35,521	59.4	1,147 (2)	673 (2)	1,820 (2)	5.1 (2)
1998 (1)	60,973	35,761	58.7	1,039	628	1,667	4.7
1999 (1)	61,914	36,073	58.3	768	446	1,214	3.4
2000 (1)	63,662	36,720	57.7	582	319	901	2.5
2001	63,647	36,544	57.4	497	247	744	2.0
2002	63,272	36,000	56.9	582	217	799	2.2
2003 (1)	63,236	35,853	56.7	493	213	706	2.0
2004 (1)	64,145	36,806	57.4	470	210	680	1.8
2005	65,466	37,652	57.5	459	189	648	1.7
WOMEN
1979	38,129	23,329	61.2	2,070	2,644	4,714	20.2
1980	38,944	23,626	60.7	2,104	2,990	5,095	21.6
1981	39,672	24,294	61.2	2,394	2,778	5,172	21.3
1982	39,777	24,365	61.3	1,651	2,561	4,212	17.3
1983	40,433	24,989	61.8	1,492	2,603	4,095	16.4
1984	42,172	26,003	61.7	1,348	2,499	3,847	14.8
1985	43,506	26,869	61.8	1,198	2,356	3,554	13.2
1986 (1)	44,961	27,863	62.0	1,192	2,125	3,317	11.9
1987	46,365	29,078	62.7	1,105	1,946	3,051	10.5
1988	47,495	29,820	62.8	1,008	1,542	2,550	8.6
1989	48,691	30,702	63.1	994	1,056	2,050	6.7
1990 (1)	49,323	31,069	63.0	1,420 (2)	711 (2)	2,131 (2)	6.9 (2)
1991	49,105	30,988	63.1	1,582 (2)	1,792 (2)	3,374 (2)	10.9 (2)
1992	49,842	31,454	63.1	1,286	1,751	3,036	9.7
1993	50,626	31,937	63.1	1,133	1,534	2,667	8.4
1994 (1)	51,419	33,021	64.2	1,322	1,241	2,563	7.8
1995	52,369	33,934	64.8	1,157	1,161	2,318	6.8
1996	53,488	34,418	64.3	1,244 (2)	1,106 (2)	2,350 (2)	6.8 (2)
1997 (1)	54,708	35,214	64.4	1,843 (2)	1,092 (2)	2,935 (2)	8.3 (2)
1998 (1)	55,757	35,680	64.0	1,794	965	2,760	7.7
1999 (1)	57,050	36,233	63.5	1,426	700	2,126	5.9
2000 (1)	58,427	36,777	62.9	1,170	579	1,749	4.8
2001	58,582	36,848	62.9	1,021	409	1,430	3.9
2002	58,555	36,508	62.3	997	350	1,347	3.7
2003 (1)	59,122	37,093	62.7	1,062	332	1,394	3.8
2004 (1)	59,408	37,133	62.5	1,013	310	1,323	3.6
2005	60,423	37,957	62.8	944	290	1,234	3.3

1 The comparability of historical labor force data has been affected at various times by methodological and conceptual changes in the Current Population Survey (CPS). For an explanation, see the "Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error" section of the February 2005 and subsequent issues of Employment and Earnings, a monthly BLS periodical.

2 Data for 1990-91 and 1996-97 reflect changes in the minimum wage that took place in those years.

NOTE: 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, and to $5.15 in September 1997. Data exclude the incorporated self-employed. The presence of a sizable number of workers with reported wages below the minimum does not necessarily indicate violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, as there are numerous exemptions to the minimum wage provisions of the law. Indeed, the relatively large number of workers with reported wages below the minimum in 1998-2005 includes some hourly-paid workers reported as earning exactly $5.00 per hour (about 1.4 million in 1998, about 900,000 in 1999, about 600,000 in 2000, about 500,000 in 2001 and in 2002, about 350,000 in 2003 and in 2004, and 300,000 in 2005); to some extent, this may reflect rounding on the part of survey respondents.

 

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Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers: 2005

 

Last Modified Date: May 19, 2006