Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers: 2004

Tables 1 - 10

Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage, 2004 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 (1979-2004 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, 2004 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	73,939	2,003	520	1,483	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.7	0.7	2.0
16 to 24 years	16,174	1,022	272	750	21.9	51.0	52.3	50.6	6.3	1.7	4.6
16 to 19 years	5,433	497	168	329	7.3	24.8	32.3	22.2	9.1	3.1	6.1
25 years and over	57,765	982	249	733	78.1	49.0	47.9	49.4	1.7	0.4	1.3
Men, 16 years and over	36,806	680	210	470	49.8	33.9	40.4	31.7	1.8	0.6	1.3
16 to 24 years	8,305	366	127	239	11.2	18.3	24.4	16.1	4.4	1.5	2.9
16 to 19 years	2,672	179	78	101	3.6	8.9	15.0	6.8	6.7	2.9	3.8
25 years and over	28,500	314	83	231	38.5	15.7	16.0	15.6	1.1	0.3	0.8
Women, 16 years and over	37,133	1,323	310	1,013	50.2	66.1	59.6	68.3	3.6	0.8	2.7
16 to 24 years	7,869	655	145	510	10.6	32.7	27.9	34.4	8.3	1.8	6.5
16 to 19 years	2,761	319	90	229	3.7	15.9	17.3	15.4	11.6	3.3	8.3
25 years and over	29,265	668	166	502	39.6	33.3	31.9	33.9	2.3	0.6	1.7
RACE, SEX, AND HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY
White (1)	59,877	1,681	395	1,286	81.0	83.9	76.0	86.7	2.8	0.7	2.1
Men	30,255	554	161	393	40.9	27.7	31.0	26.5	1.8	0.5	1.3
Women	29,621	1,126	234	892	40.1	56.2	45.0	60.1	3.8	0.8	3.0
Black or African American (1)	9,417	227	99	128	12.7	11.3	19.0	8.6	2.4	1.1	1.4
Men	4,243	89	40	49	5.7	4.4	7.7	3.3	2.1	0.9	1.2
Women	5,174	138	59	79	7.0	6.9	11.3	5.3	2.7	1.1	1.5
Asian (1)	2,672	38	8	30	3.6	1.9	1.5	2.0	1.4	0.3	1.1
Men	1,295	15	3	12	1.8	0.7	0.6	0.8	1.2	0.2	0.9
Women	1,378	23	5	18	1.9	1.1	1.0	1.2	1.7	0.4	1.3
Hispanic or Latino (1)	12,073	250	82	168	16.3	12.5	15.8	11.3	2.1	0.7	1.4
Men	7,183	98	32	66	9.7	4.9	6.2	4.5	1.4	0.4	0.9
Women	4,890	151	49	102	6.6	7.5	9.4	6.9	3.1	1.0	2.1
FULL- AND PART-TIME STATUS AND SEX
Full-time workers (2)	55,739	760	177	583	75.4	37.9	34.0	39.3	1.4	0.3	1.0
Men	30,951	300	77	223	41.9	15.0	14.8	15.0	1.0	0.2	0.7
Women	24,788	460	100	360	33.5	23.0	19.2	24.3	1.9	0.4	1.5
Part-time workers (2)	18,046	1,240	343	897	24.4	61.9	66.0	60.5	6.9	1.9	5.0
Men	5,770	378	132	246	7.8	18.9	25.4	16.6	6.6	2.3	4.3
Women	12,276	861	210	651	16.6	43.0	40.4	43.9	7.0	1.7	5.3

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, 2004 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	73,939	2,003	520	1,483	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.7	0.7	2.0
Northeast	12,923	364	93	271	17.5	18.2	17.9	18.3	2.8	0.7	2.1
New England	3,809	89	13	76	5.2	4.4	2.5	5.1	2.3	0.3	2.0
Middle Atlantic	9,114	275	79	196	12.3	13.7	15.2	13.2	3.0	0.9	2.2
Midwest	18,768	533	110	423	25.4	26.6	21.2	28.5	2.8	0.6	2.3
East North Central	12,978	384	69	315	17.6	19.2	13.3	21.2	3.0	0.5	2.4
West North Central	5,790	149	41	108	7.8	7.4	7.9	7.3	2.6	0.7	1.9
South	25,343	840	232	608	34.3	41.9	44.6	41.0	3.3	0.9	2.4
South Atlantic	13,020	374	66	308	17.6	18.7	12.7	20.8	2.9	0.5	2.4
East South Central	4,455	154	55	99	6.0	7.7	10.6	6.7	3.5	1.2	2.2
West South Central	7,868	312	111	201	10.6	15.6	21.3	13.6	4.0	1.4	2.6
West	16,905	267	86	181	22.9	13.3	16.5	12.2	1.6	0.5	1.1
Mountain	5,143	168	53	115	7.0	8.4	10.2	7.8	3.3	1.0	2.2
Pacific	11,761	99	33	66	15.9	4.9	6.3	4.5	0.8	0.3	0.6

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, 2004 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	73,939	2,003	520	1,483	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.7	0.7	2.0
Alabama	1,142	53	28	25	1.5	2.6	5.4	1.7	4.6	2.5	2.2
Alaska	194	1	-	1	0.3	-	-	0.1	0.5	-	0.5
Arizona	1,470	43	10	33	2.0	2.1	1.9	2.2	2.9	0.7	2.2
Arkansas	655	18	8	10	0.9	0.9	1.5	0.7	2.7	1.2	1.5
California	8,575	72	26	46	11.6	3.6	5.0	3.1	0.8	0.3	0.5
Colorado	1,116	40	6	34	1.5	2.0	1.2	2.3	3.6	0.5	3.0
Connecticut	876	16	2	14	1.2	0.8	0.4	0.9	1.8	0.2	1.6
Delaware	204	4	1	3	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2	2.0	0.5	1.5
District of Columbia	107	3	1	2	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.1	2.8	0.9	1.9
Florida	4,037	146	13	133	5.5	7.3	2.5	9.0	3.6	0.3	3.3
Georgia	2,022	39	7	32	2.7	1.9	1.3	2.2	1.9	0.3	1.6
Hawaii	329	5	1	4	0.4	0.3	0.2	0.3	1.5	0.3	1.2
Idaho	383	12	3	9	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.6	3.1	0.8	2.3
Illinois	3,184	84	13	71	4.3	4.2	2.5	4.8	2.6	0.4	2.2
Indiana	1,779	36	5	31	2.4	1.8	1.0	2.1	2.0	0.3	1.7
Iowa	882	26	6	20	1.2	1.3	1.2	1.3	2.9	0.7	2.3
Kansas	797	23	6	17	1.1	1.1	1.2	1.1	2.9	0.8	2.1
Kentucky	1,148	45	15	30	1.6	2.2	2.9	2.0	3.9	1.3	2.6
Louisiana	1,070	55	23	32	1.4	2.7	4.4	2.2	5.1	2.1	3.0
Maine	396	9	1	8	0.5	0.4	0.2	0.5	2.3	0.3	2.0
Maryland	1,294	24	4	20	1.8	1.2	0.8	1.3	1.9	0.3	1.5
Massachusetts	1,679	43	8	35	2.3	2.1	1.5	2.4	2.6	0.5	2.1
Michigan	2,888	90	16	74	3.9	4.5	3.1	5.0	3.1	0.6	2.6
Minnesota	1,529	31	13	18	2.1	1.5	2.5	1.2	2.0	0.9	1.2
Mississippi	658	17	6	11	0.9	0.8	1.2	0.7	2.6	0.9	1.7
Missouri	1,601	42	9	33	2.2	2.1	1.7	2.2	2.6	0.6	2.1
Montana	252	8	5	3	0.3	0.4	1.0	0.2	3.2	2.0	1.2
Nebraska	557	16	4	12	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	2.9	0.7	2.2
Nevada	640	16	9	7	0.9	0.8	1.7	0.5	2.5	1.4	1.1
New Hampshire	376	9	1	8	0.5	0.4	0.2	0.5	2.4	0.3	2.1
New Jersey	1,842	59	14	45	2.5	2.9	2.7	3.0	3.2	0.8	2.4
New Mexico	470	26	13	13	0.6	1.3	2.5	0.9	5.5	2.8	2.8
New York	4,009	128	39	89	5.4	6.4	7.5	6.0	3.2	1.0	2.2
North Carolina	2,099	54	16	38	2.8	2.7	3.1	2.6	2.6	0.8	1.8
North Dakota	195	5	2	3	0.3	0.2	0.4	0.2	2.6	1.0	1.5
Ohio	3,324	125	25	100	4.5	6.2	4.8	6.7	3.8	0.8	3.0
Oklahoma	849	41	13	28	1.1	2.0	2.5	1.9	4.8	1.5	3.3
Oregon	951	6	3	3	1.3	0.3	0.6	0.2	0.6	0.3	0.3
Pennsylvania	3,263	89	27	62	4.4	4.4	5.2	4.2	2.7	0.8	1.9
Rhode Island	306	8	1	7	0.4	0.4	0.2	0.5	2.6	0.3	2.3
South Carolina	1,062	43	7	36	1.4	2.1	1.3	2.4	4.0	0.7	3.4
South Dakota	229	8	2	6	0.3	0.4	0.4	0.4	3.5	0.9	2.6
Tennesee	1,507	40	7	33	2.0	2.0	1.3	2.2	2.7	0.5	2.2
Texas	5,293	198	67	131	7.2	9.9	12.9	8.8	3.7	1.3	2.5
Utah	667	19	6	13	0.9	0.9	1.2	0.9	2.8	0.9	1.9
Vermont	176	5	1	4	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.3	2.8	0.6	2.3
Virginia	1,720	42	5	37	2.3	2.1	1.0	2.5	2.4	0.3	2.2
Washington	1,713	15	3	12	2.3	0.7	0.6	0.8	0.9	0.2	0.7
West Virginia	475	20	11	9	0.6	1.0	2.1	0.6	4.2	2.3	1.9
Wisconsin	1,804	49	10	39	2.4	2.4	1.9	2.6	2.7	0.6	2.2
Wyoming	145	4	1	3	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	2.8	0.7	2.1

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, 2004 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	73,939	2,003	520	1,483	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.7	0.7	2.0
Management, professional, and related occupations	13,743	66	27	39	18.6	3.3	5.2	2.6	0.5	0.2	0.3
Management, business, and financial operations occupations	3,750	16	2	14	5.1	0.8	0.4	0.9	0.4	0.1	0.4
Professional and related occupations	9,993	50	25	25	13.5	2.5	4.8	1.7	0.5	0.3	0.3
Service occupations	16,381	1,494	256	1,238	22.2	74.6	49.2	83.5	9.1	1.6	7.6
Healthcare support occupations	2,460	33	12	21	3.3	1.6	2.3	1.4	1.3	0.5	0.9
Protective service occupations	1,823	24	4	20	2.5	1.2	0.8	1.3	1.3	0.2	1.1
Food preparation and serving related occupations	6,236	1,183	147	1,036	8.4	59.1	28.3	69.9	19.0	2.4	16.6
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	3,608	102	39	63	4.9	5.1	7.5	4.2	2.8	1.1	1.7
Personal care and service occupations	2,254	151	54	97	3.0	7.5	10.4	6.5	6.7	2.4	4.3
Sales and office occupations	20,650	250	146	104	27.9	12.5	28.1	7.0	1.2	0.7	0.5
Sales and related occupations	7,512	142	76	66	10.2	7.1	14.6	4.5	1.9	1.0	0.9
Office and administrative support occupations	13,139	106	69	37	17.8	5.3	13.3	2.5	0.8	0.5	0.3
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	9,368	50	26	24	12.7	2.5	5.0	1.6	0.5	0.3	0.3
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	603	21	11	10	0.8	1.0	2.1	0.7	3.5	1.8	1.7
Construction and extraction occupations	5,430	13	6	7	7.3	0.6	1.2	0.5	0.2	0.1	0.1
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	3,335	15	9	6	4.5	0.7	1.7	0.4	0.4	0.3	0.2
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	13,796	144	66	78	18.7	7.2	12.7	5.3	1.0	0.5	0.6
Production occupations	7,708	54	18	36	10.4	2.7	3.5	2.4	0.7	0.2	0.5
Transportation and material moving occupations	6,087	89	47	42	8.2	4.4	9.0	2.8	1.5	0.8	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, 2004 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	73,939	2,003	520	1,483	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.7	0.7	2.0
Private sector	64,708	1,890	467	1,423	87.5	94.4	89.8	96.0	2.9	0.7	2.2
Agriculture and related industries	623	19	10	9	0.8	0.9	1.9	0.6	3.0	1.6	1.4
Nonagricultural industries	64,085	1,870	457	1,413	86.7	93.4	87.9	95.3	2.9	0.7	2.2
Mining	312	1	1	-	0.4	-	0.2	-	0.3	0.3	-
Construction	5,552	18	8	10	7.5	0.9	1.5	0.7	0.3	0.1	0.2
Manufacturing	10,388	61	23	38	14.0	3.0	4.4	2.6	0.6	0.2	0.4
Durable goods	6,397	28	8	20	8.7	1.4	1.5	1.3	0.4	0.1	0.3
Nondurable goods	3,991	33	15	18	5.4	1.6	2.9	1.2	0.8	0.4	0.5
Wholesale and retail trade	12,456	181	96	85	16.8	9.0	18.5	5.7	1.5	0.8	0.7
Wholesale trade	2,038	17	10	7	2.8	0.8	1.9	0.5	0.8	0.5	0.3
Retail trade	10,418	164	86	78	14.1	8.2	16.5	5.3	1.6	0.8	0.7
Transportation and utilities	2,915	20	7	13	3.9	1.0	1.3	0.9	0.7	0.2	0.4
Information	1,472	14	10	4	2.0	0.7	1.9	0.3	1.0	0.7	0.3
Financial activities	3,453	33	20	13	4.7	1.6	3.8	0.9	1.0	0.6	0.4
Professional and business services	5,461	61	24	37	7.4	3.0	4.6	2.5	1.1	0.4	0.7
Education and health services	11,022	138	62	76	14.9	6.9	11.9	5.1	1.3	0.6	0.7
Leisure and hospitality	8,095	1,242	176	1,066	10.9	62.0	33.8	71.9	15.3	2.2	13.2
Other services	2,959	102	31	71	4.0	5.1	6.0	4.8	3.4	1.0	2.4
Public sector	9,231	113	53	60	12.5	5.6	10.2	4.0	1.2	0.6	0.6
Federal	1,781	19	11	8	2.4	0.9	2.1	0.5	1.1	0.6	0.4
State	2,347	32	17	15	3.2	1.6	3.3	1.0	1.4	0.7	0.6
Local	5,103	62	25	37	6.9	3.1	4.8	2.5	1.2	0.5	0.7

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, 2004 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	73,939	2,003	520	1,483	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.7	0.7	2.0
Less than a high school diploma	12,276	579	203	376	16.6	28.9	39.0	25.4	4.7	1.7	3.1
Less than 1 year of high school	3,428	85	26	59	4.6	4.2	5.0	4.0	2.5	0.8	1.7
1 to 3 years of high school	7,631	443	158	285	10.3	22.1	30.4	19.2	5.8	2.1	3.7
4 years of high school, no diploma	1,217	50	19	31	1.6	2.5	3.7	2.1	4.1	1.6	2.5
High school graduates or more	61,663	1,424	317	1,107	83.4	71.1	61.0	74.6	2.3	0.5	1.8
High school graduates, no college	27,399	633	156	477	37.1	31.6	30.0	32.2	2.3	0.6	1.7
Some college or associate degree	24,002	653	130	523	32.5	32.6	25.0	35.3	2.7	0.5	2.2
Some college, no degree	16,662	536	107	429	22.5	26.8	20.6	28.9	3.2	0.6	2.6
Associate degree	7,340	116	23	93	9.9	5.8	4.4	6.3	1.6	0.3	1.3
Occupational program	4,170	51	8	43	5.6	2.5	1.5	2.9	1.2	0.2	1.0
Academic program	3,170	64	14	50	4.3	3.2	2.7	3.4	2.0	0.4	1.6
Bachelor's degree and higher, total	10,262	139	31	108	13.9	6.9	6.0	7.3	1.4	0.3	1.1
Bachelor's degree	8,171	125	26	99	11.1	6.2	5.0	6.7	1.5	0.3	1.2
Master's degree	1,629	9	4	5	2.2	0.4	0.8	0.3	0.6	0.2	0.3
Professional degree	289	3	-	3	0.4	0.1	-	0.2	1.0	-	1.0
Doctoral degree	173	1	-	1	0.2	-	-	0.1	0.6	-	0.6

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, 2004 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	73,939	2,003	520	1,483	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.7	0.7	2.0
Under 25 years	16,174	1,022	272	750	21.9	51.0	52.3	50.6	6.3	1.7	4.6
16 to 19 years	5,433	497	168	329	7.3	24.8	32.3	22.2	9.1	3.1	6.1
20 to 24 years	10,741	523	103	420	14.5	26.1	19.8	28.3	4.9	1.0	3.9
25 years and over	57,765	982	249	733	78.1	49.0	47.9	49.4	1.7	0.4	1.3
25 to 34 years	16,574	384	64	320	22.4	19.2	12.3	21.6	2.3	0.4	1.9
25 to 29 years	8,449	226	34	192	11.4	11.3	6.5	12.9	2.7	0.4	2.3
30 to 34 years	8,125	157	30	127	11.0	7.8	5.8	8.6	1.9	0.4	1.6
35 to 44 years	16,715	238	63	175	22.6	11.9	12.1	11.8	1.4	0.4	1.0
35 to 39 years	8,007	117	25	92	10.8	5.8	4.8	6.2	1.5	0.3	1.1
40 to 44 years	8,708	121	37	84	11.8	6.0	7.1	5.7	1.4	0.4	1.0
45 to 54 years	14,796	173	48	125	20.0	8.6	9.2	8.4	1.2	0.3	0.8
45 to 49 years	8,201	101	30	71	11.1	5.0	5.8	4.8	1.2	0.4	0.9
50 to 54 years	6,595	72	18	54	8.9	3.6	3.5	3.6	1.1	0.3	0.8
55 to 64 years	7,501	101	40	61	10.1	5.0	7.7	4.1	1.3	0.5	0.8
55 to 59 years	4,756	60	21	39	6.4	3.0	4.0	2.6	1.3	0.4	0.8
60 to 64 years	2,745	41	19	22	3.7	2.0	3.7	1.5	1.5	0.7	0.8
65 years and over	2,177	86	33	53	2.9	4.3	6.3	3.6	4.0	1.5	2.4
65 to 69 years	1,196	41	15	26	1.6	2.0	2.9	1.8	3.4	1.3	2.2
70 years and over	981	45	18	27	1.3	2.2	3.5	1.8	4.6	1.8	2.8
MEN
Total, 16 years and over	36,806	680	210	470	49.8	33.9	40.4	31.7	1.8	0.6	1.3
Under 25 years	8,305	366	127	239	11.2	18.3	24.4	16.1	4.4	1.5	2.9
16 to 19 years	2,672	179	78	101	3.6	8.9	15.0	6.8	6.7	2.9	3.8
20 to 24 years	5,633	187	49	138	7.6	9.3	9.4	9.3	3.3	0.9	2.4
25 years and over	28,500	314	83	231	38.5	15.7	16.0	15.6	1.1	0.3	0.8
25 to 34 years	8,929	141	30	111	12.1	7.0	5.8	7.5	1.6	0.3	1.2
25 to 29 years	4,610	88	15	73	6.2	4.4	2.9	4.9	1.9	0.3	1.6
30 to 34 years	4,319	52	14	38	5.8	2.6	2.7	2.6	1.2	0.3	0.9
35 to 44 years	8,277	71	17	54	11.2	3.5	3.3	3.6	0.9	0.2	0.7
35 to 39 years	4,081	33	3	30	5.5	1.6	0.6	2.0	0.8	0.1	0.7
40 to 44 years	4,196	36	13	23	5.7	1.8	2.5	1.6	0.9	0.3	0.5
45 to 54 years	6,928	57	17	40	9.4	2.8	3.3	2.7	0.8	0.2	0.6
45 to 49 years	3,847	33	10	23	5.2	1.6	1.9	1.6	0.9	0.3	0.6
50 to 54 years	3,081	25	7	18	4.2	1.2	1.3	1.2	0.8	0.2	0.6
55 to 64 years	3,402	27	13	14	4.6	1.3	2.5	0.9	0.8	0.4	0.4
55 to 59 years	2,167	17	9	8	2.9	0.8	1.7	0.5	0.8	0.4	0.4
60 to 64 years	1,235	9	4	5	1.7	0.4	0.8	0.3	0.7	0.3	0.4
65 years and over	964	20	7	13	1.3	1.0	1.3	0.9	2.1	0.7	1.3
65 to 69 years	530	8	1	7	0.7	0.4	0.2	0.5	1.5	0.2	1.3
70 years and over	434	10	5	5	0.6	0.5	1.0	0.3	2.3	1.2	1.2
WOMEN
Total, 16 years and over	37,133	1,323	310	1,013	50.2	66.1	59.6	68.3	3.6	0.8	2.7
Under 25 years	7,869	655	145	510	10.6	32.7	27.9	34.4	8.3	1.8	6.5
16 to 19 years	2,761	319	90	229	3.7	15.9	17.3	15.4	11.6	3.3	8.3
20 to 24 years	5,108	337	55	282	6.9	16.8	10.6	19.0	6.6	1.1	5.5
25 years and over	29,265	668	166	502	39.6	33.3	31.9	33.9	2.3	0.6	1.7
25 to 34 years	7,645	244	35	209	10.3	12.2	6.7	14.1	3.2	0.5	2.7
25 to 29 years	3,839	138	19	119	5.2	6.9	3.7	8.0	3.6	0.5	3.1
30 to 34 years	3,806	106	16	90	5.1	5.3	3.1	6.1	2.8	0.4	2.4
35 to 44 years	8,439	168	46	122	11.4	8.4	8.8	8.2	2.0	0.5	1.4
35 to 39 years	3,927	83	22	61	5.3	4.1	4.2	4.1	2.1	0.6	1.6
40 to 44 years	4,512	84	24	60	6.1	4.2	4.6	4.0	1.9	0.5	1.3
45 to 54 years	7,868	115	31	84	10.6	5.7	6.0	5.7	1.5	0.4	1.1
45 to 49 years	4,355	68	20	48	5.9	3.4	3.8	3.2	1.6	0.5	1.1
50 to 54 years	3,514	48	11	37	4.8	2.4	2.1	2.5	1.4	0.3	1.1
55 to 64 years	4,099	74	27	47	5.5	3.7	5.2	3.2	1.8	0.7	1.1
55 to 59 years	2,589	43	12	31	3.5	2.1	2.3	2.1	1.7	0.5	1.2
60 to 64 years	1,510	31	15	16	2.0	1.5	2.9	1.1	2.1	1.0	1.1
65 years and over	1,213	67	27	40	1.6	3.3	5.2	2.7	5.5	2.2	3.3
65 to 69 years	666	33	14	19	0.9	1.6	2.7	1.3	5.0	2.1	2.9
70 years and over	547	35	13	22	0.7	1.7	2.5	1.5	6.4	2.4	4.0

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, 2004 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	73,939	2,003	520	1,483	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.7	0.7	2.0
Never married	25,411	1,244	320	924	34.4	62.1	61.5	62.3	4.9	1.3	3.6
16 to 24 years	14,155	940	253	687	19.1	46.9	48.7	46.3	6.6	1.8	4.9
25 years and over	11,256	303	67	236	15.2	15.1	12.9	15.9	2.7	0.6	2.1
25 to 54 years	10,694	289	59	230	14.5	14.4	11.3	15.5	2.7	0.6	2.2
Married, spouse present	36,130	481	114	367	48.9	24.0	21.9	24.7	1.3	0.3	1.0
16 to 24 years	1,603	65	14	51	2.2	3.2	2.7	3.4	4.1	0.9	3.2
25 years and over	34,527	416	100	316	46.7	20.8	19.2	21.3	1.2	0.3	0.9
25 to 54 years	28,353	331	73	258	38.3	16.5	14.0	17.4	1.2	0.3	0.9
Other marital status	12,397	278	86	192	16.8	13.9	16.5	12.9	2.2	0.7	1.5
16 to 24 years	415	16	5	11	0.6	0.8	1.0	0.7	3.9	1.2	2.7
25 years and over	11,982	263	82	181	16.2	13.1	15.8	12.2	2.2	0.7	1.5
25 to 54 years	9,040	176	44	132	12.2	8.8	8.5	8.9	1.9	0.5	1.5
MEN
Total, 16 years and over	36,806	680	210	470	49.8	33.9	40.4	31.7	1.8	0.6	1.3
Never married	13,637	490	150	340	18.4	24.5	28.8	22.9	3.6	1.1	2.5
16 to 24 years	7,429	351	120	231	10.0	17.5	23.1	15.6	4.7	1.6	3.1
25 years and over	6,208	139	30	109	8.4	6.9	5.8	7.3	2.2	0.5	1.8
25 to 54 years	5,960	132	26	106	8.1	6.6	5.0	7.1	2.2	0.4	1.8
Married, spouse present	18,546	135	36	99	25.1	6.7	6.9	6.7	0.7	0.2	0.5
16 to 24 years	724	12	4	8	1.0	0.6	0.8	0.5	1.7	0.6	1.1
25 years and over]	17,822	123	32	91	24.1	6.1	6.2	6.1	0.7	0.2	0.5
25 to 54 years	14,506	98	24	74	19.6	4.9	4.6	5.0	0.7	0.2	0.5
Other marital status	4,623	54	23	31	6.3	2.7	4.4	2.1	1.2	0.5	0.7
16 to 24 years	153	3	3	-	0.2	0.1	0.6	-	2.0	2.0	-
25 years and over	4,470	52	21	31	6.0	2.6	4.0	2.1	1.2	0.5	0.7
25 to 54 years	3,667	37	13	24	5.0	1.8	2.5	1.6	1.0	0.4	0.7
WOMEN
Total, 16 years and over	37,133	1,323	310	1,013	50.2	66.1	59.6	68.3	3.6	0.8	2.7
Never married	11,774	754	170	584	15.9	37.6	32.7	39.4	6.4	1.4	5.0
16 to 24 years	6,727	588	132	456	9.1	29.4	25.4	30.7	8.7	2.0	6.8
25 years and over	5,047	164	37	127	6.8	8.2	7.1	8.6	3.2	0.7	2.5
25 to 54 years	4,733	156	33	123	6.4	7.8	6.3	8.3	3.3	0.7	2.6
Married, spouse present	17,584	346	78	268	23.8	17.3	15.0	18.1	2.0	0.4	1.5
16 to 24 years	879	54	11	43	1.2	2.7	2.1	2.9	6.1	1.3	4.9
25 years and over	16,705	293	68	225	22.6	14.6	13.1	15.2	1.8	0.4	1.3
25 to 54 years	13,847	232	48	184	18.7	11.6	9.2	12.4	1.7	0.3	1.3
Other marital status	7,774	224	63	161	10.5	11.2	12.1	10.9	2.9	0.8	2.1
16 to 24 years	262	13	2	11	0.4	0.6	0.4	0.7	5.0	0.8	4.2
25 years and over	7,512	211	61	150	10.2	10.5	11.7	10.1	2.8	0.8	2.0
25 to 54 years	5,372	139	31	108	7.3	6.9	6.0	7.3	2.6	0.6	2.0

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 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, 2004 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	73,939	2,003	520	1,483	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	2.7	0.7	2.0
Hours vary	5,499	289	56	233	7.4	14.4	10.8	15.7	5.3	1.0	4.2
0 to 34 hours	15,833	1,060	305	755	21.4	52.9	58.7	50.9	6.7	1.9	4.8
0 to 4 hours	309	21	6	15	0.4	1.0	1.2	1.0	6.8	1.9	4.9
5 to 9 hours	913	75	23	52	1.2	3.7	4.4	3.5	8.2	2.5	5.7
10 to 14 hours	1,458	110	38	72	2.0	5.5	7.3	4.9	7.5	2.6	4.9
15 to 19 hours	2,110	155	57	98	2.9	7.7	11.0	6.6	7.3	2.7	4.6
20 to 24 hours	4,921	338	111	227	6.7	16.9	21.3	15.3	6.9	2.3	4.6
25 to 29 hours	2,163	143	30	113	2.9	7.1	5.8	7.6	6.6	1.4	5.2
30 to 34 hours	3,959	218	40	178	5.4	10.9	7.7	12.0	5.5	1.0	4.5
35 hours or more	52,607	654	159	495	71.1	32.7	30.6	33.4	1.2	0.3	0.9
35 to 39 hours	5,037	167	26	141	6.8	8.3	5.0	9.5	3.3	0.5	2.8
40 hours or more	47,570	487	133	354	64.3	24.3	25.6	23.9	1.0	0.3	0.7
40 hours	41,302	429	121	308	55.9	21.4	23.3	20.8	1.0	0.3	0.7
41 hours or more	6,267	59	13	46	8.5	2.9	2.5	3.1	0.9	0.2	0.7
41 to 44 hours	746	4	-	4	1.0	0.2	-	0.3	0.5	-	0.5
45 to 48 hours	2,263	18	4	14	3.1	0.9	0.8	0.9	0.8	0.2	0.6
49 to 59 hours	2,266	27	5	22	3.1	1.3	1.0	1.5	1.2	0.2	1.0
60 hours or more	992	9	4	5	1.3	0.4	0.8	0.3	0.9	0.4	0.5

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 10. Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage by sex, 1979-2004 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
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
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

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 1998-2004 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, about 500,000 in 2002, and about 350,000 in 2003 and in 2004); to some extent, this may reflect rounding on the part of survey respondents.

 

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Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers: 2004

 

Last Modified Date: April 5, 2005