FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: FOR RELEASE: Cheryl Abbot, Regional Economist April 8, 2009 (972) 850-4800 http://www.bls.gov/ro6/ MINIMUM WAGE WORKERS IN TEXAS: 2008 Among hourly-paid workers in Texas, 262,000 had earnings at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage (1) in 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. (See chart A.) About 5.5 million workers were paid at hourly rates, representing 52.1 percent of all Texas wage and salary workers (2). Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that workers paid at or below the Federal minimum accounted for 4.7 percent of these hourly-paid workers in Texas (3). This was one of the highest shares in the nation. (See table 1.) Chart A. Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage in Texas, annual averages, 1998-2008 According to Current Population Survey (CPS) estimates for 2008, 75.3 million workers in the United States were paid at hourly rates, representing 58.2 percent of all wage and salary workers. Of those paid by the hour, 286,000 earned exactly the prevailing Federal minimum wage and about 1.9 million additional workers earned wages below the minimum. Together, these 2.2 million workers with wages at or below the Federal minimum made up 3.0 percent of all hourly-paid workers in the nation. In Texas, with the exception of a slight uptick in 2003, the number of hourly-paid workers at or below the Federal minimum wage declined steadily from 1998 to 2006. However, that trend reversed itself in 2007 and continued upward in 2008. With the increased Federal minimum wage in 2007 and 2008, both a larger number and a higher percentage of workers in the State received hourly wages at or below the minimum wage. (See chart A.) The number of workers at or below the Federal minimum wage in Texas rose by 41,000 in 2008 with 25,000 of this increase among men. As a result, men accounted for nearly 36 percent of all the State’s hourly-paid workers who earned the Federal minimum wage or less, up from about 31 percent in 2007. Still, the likelihood of earning the Federal minimum wage or less was twice as high for women (6.5 percent) as for men (3.2 percent) in the State in 2008. (See table A and chart B.) Chart B. Percentage of employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage in Texas, by sex, annual averages, 1998-2008 Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in 2008, Mississippi, at 6.0 percent, had the highest proportion of hourly-paid workers earning at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage. Mississippi was closely followed by South Carolina and Tennessee at 5.9 and 5.8 percent, respectively. Texas ranked seventh with 4.7 percent of the State's hourly workers earning the Federal minimum wage or less. Oregon had the lowest rate at 0.8 percent, followed by Alaska and California, both at 1.0 percent. It should be noted that as of January 1, 2009, 27 states and the District of Columbia had laws establishing minimum wage standards that exceeded the Federal level of $6.55 per hour (4). (See table 1 and chart C.) Chart C. Minimum wage laws in the States, January 1, 2009 (Map source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment Standards Administration) Overall, Texas wage and salary workers paid hourly rates (5) had median hourly earnings of $11.00 in 2008; nationally, the median was $12.23. The 2008 median hourly rates for men and for women in Texas were $11.99 and $10.02, respectively. (See table A.) For the United States as a whole, the comparable hourly figures were $13.46 for men and $11.49 for women in 2008.
Texas | At or below Federal minimum wage (number of workers in thousands) | All hourly-paid workers | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | Below Prevailing | At Prevailing | Number of workers (in thousands) | Median earnings (in dollars) | |
Total | |||||
1998 |
466 | 255 | 211 | 5,055 | $ 8.23 |
1999 |
337 | 186 | 151 | 4,990 | 8.54 |
2000 |
297 | 174 | 123 | 5,112 | 9.01 |
2001 |
215 | 128 | 87 | 5,101 | 9.48 |
2002 |
205 | 129 | 76 | 5,002 | 9.76 |
2003 |
235 | 161 | 74 | 5,258 | 9.82 |
2004 |
198 | 131 | 67 | 5,293 | 9.95 |
2005 |
176 | 121 | 55 | 5,467 | 10.04 |
2006 |
173 | 121 | 52 | 5,724 | 10.22 |
2007 |
221 | 175 | 46 | 5,585 | 10.54 |
2008 |
262 | 208 | 54 | 5,527 | 11.00 |
Men | |||||
1998 |
186 | 108 | 78 | 2,660 | $ 8.97 |
1999 |
120 | 68 | 52 | 2,560 | 9.35 |
2000 |
114 | 70 | 44 | 2,667 | 9.83 |
2001 |
90 | 50 | 40 | 2,712 | 10.11 |
2002 |
82 | 61 | 21 | 2,623 | 10.11 |
2003 |
96 | 70 | 26 | 2,704 | 10.18 |
2004 |
77 | 48 | 29 | 2,753 | 10.41 |
2005 |
67 | 48 | 19 | 2,835 | 10.87 |
2006 |
69 | 47 | 22 | 3,011 | 11.18 |
2007 |
69 | 53 | 16 | 2,895 | 11.54 |
2008 |
94 | 78 | 16 | 2,932 | 11.99 |
Women | |||||
1998 |
280 | 147 | 133 | 2,395 | $ 7.50 |
1999 |
217 | 118 | 99 | 2,430 | 7.84 |
2000 |
183 | 104 | 79 | 2,445 | 8.18 |
2001 |
125 | 78 | 47 | 2,389 | 8.55 |
2002 |
123 | 68 | 55 | 2,379 | 8.90 |
2003 |
139 | 91 | 48 | 2,553 | 8.95 |
2004 |
122 | 84 | 38 | 2,541 | 9.33 |
2005 |
110 | 73 | 37 | 2,632 | 9.24 |
2006 |
104 | 74 | 30 | 2,713 | 9.80 |
2007 |
152 | 122 | 30 | 2,690 | 9.86 |
2008 |
168 | 130 | 38 | 2,595 | 10.02 |
Note: Data exclude all self-employed persons whether or not their businesses are incorporated. |
State | Number of workers (in thousands) |
Percent distribution |
Percent of workers paid hourly rates |
||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total paid hourly rates |
At or below minimum wage | Total paid hourly rates |
At or below minimum wage | At or below minimum wage | |||||||
Total | At minimum wage |
Below minimum wage |
Total | At minimum wage |
Below minimum wage |
Total | At minimum wage |
Below minimum wage |
|||
Total, 16 years & over |
75,305 | 2,226 | 286 | 1,940 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 3.0 | 0.4 | 2.6 |
Alabama |
1,119 | 47 | 17 | 30 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 5.9 | 1.5 | 4.2 | 1.5 | 2.7 |
Alaska |
204 | 2 | - | 2 | 0.3 | 0.1 | - | 0.1 | 1.0 | - | 1.0 |
Arizona |
1,533 | 46 | 5 | 41 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 3.0 | 0.3 | 2.7 |
Arkansas |
703 | 26 | 5 | 21 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 3.0 |
California |
8,778 | 86 | 6 | 80 | 11.7 | 3.9 | 2.1 | 4.1 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0.9 |
Colorado |
1,211 | 48 | 1 | 47 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 4.0 | 0.1 | 3.9 |
Connecticut |
892 | 16 | 1 | 15 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 0.1 | 1.7 |
Delaware |
220 | 6 | - | 6 | 0.3 | 0.3 | - | 0.3 | 2.7 | - | 2.7 |
District of Columbia |
110 | 3 | - | 3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | - | 0.2 | 2.7 | - | 2.7 |
Florida |
4,058 | 127 | 5 | 122 | 5.4 | 5.7 | 1.7 | 6.3 | 3.1 | 0.1 | 3.0 |
Georgia |
2,084 | 76 | 13 | 63 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 4.5 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 0.6 | 3.0 |
Hawaii |
338 | 5 | - | 5 | 0.4 | 0.2 | - | 0.3 | 1.5 | - | 1.5 |
Idaho |
412 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 3.6 | 1.0 | 2.7 |
Illinois |
3,211 | 80 | - | 80 | 4.3 | 3.6 | - | 4.1 | 2.5 | - | 2.5 |
Indiana |
1,812 | 64 | 10 | 54 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 0.6 | 3.0 |
Iowa |
927 | 21 | 1 | 20 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 0.1 | 2.2 |
Kansas |
791 | 31 | 5 | 26 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 3.9 | 0.6 | 3.3 |
Kentucky |
1,101 | 45 | 9 | 36 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 4.1 | 0.8 | 3.3 |
Louisiana |
953 | 48 | 9 | 39 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 3.1 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 0.9 | 4.1 |
Maine |
397 | 7 | - | 7 | 0.5 | 0.3 | - | 0.4 | 1.8 | - | 1.8 |
Maryland |
1,339 | 37 | 5 | 32 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 2.8 | 0.4 | 2.4 |
Massachusetts |
1,543 | 35 | 2 | 33 | 2.0 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 0.1 | 2.1 |
Michigan |
2,641 | 73 | 2 | 71 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 3.7 | 2.8 | 0.1 | 2.7 |
Minnesota |
1,511 | 40 | 6 | 34 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 2.3 |
Mississippi |
667 | 40 | 9 | 31 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 3.1 | 1.6 | 6.0 | 1.3 | 4.6 |
Missouri |
1,592 | 50 | 4 | 46 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 0.3 | 2.9 |
Montana |
287 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
Nebraska |
551 | 20 | 3 | 17 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 3.6 | 0.5 | 3.1 |
Nevada |
736 | 16 | 2 | 14 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 1.9 |
New Hampshire |
380 | 11 | - | 11 | 0.5 | 0.5 | - | 0.6 | 2.9 | - | 2.9 |
New Jersey |
1,781 | 53 | 5 | 48 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 0.3 | 2.7 |
New Mexico |
495 | 13 | - | 13 | 0.7 | 0.6 | - | 0.7 | 2.6 | - | 2.6 |
New York |
4,105 | 100 | 6 | 94 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 2.1 | 4.8 | 2.4 | 0.1 | 2.3 |
North Carolina |
2,235 | 78 | 11 | 67 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 0.5 | 3.0 |
North Dakota |
199 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 4.0 | 0.5 | 3.5 |
Ohio |
3,329 | 77 | 5 | 72 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 1.7 | 3.7 | 2.3 | 0.2 | 2.2 |
Oklahoma |
878 | 48 | 19 | 29 | 1.2 | 2.2 | 6.6 | 1.5 | 5.5 | 2.2 | 3.3 |
Oregon |
999 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.6 |
Pennsylvania |
3,457 | 85 | 6 | 79 | 4.6 | 3.8 | 2.1 | 4.1 | 2.5 | 0.2 | 2.3 |
Rhode Island |
296 | 6 | - | 6 | 0.4 | 0.3 | - | 0.3 | 2.0 | - | 2.0 |
South Carolina |
1,111 | 66 | 6 | 60 | 1.5 | 3.0 | 2.1 | 3.1 | 5.9 | 0.5 | 5.4 |
South Dakota |
256 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 2.0 |
Tennessee |
1,533 | 89 | 12 | 77 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 5.8 | 0.8 | 5.0 |
Texas |
5,527 | 262 | 54 | 208 | 7.3 | 11.8 | 18.9 | 10.7 | 4.7 | 1.0 | 3.8 |
Utah |
736 | 18 | 5 | 13 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 1.8 |
Vermont |
183 | 4 | - | 4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | - | 0.2 | 2.2 | - | 2.2 |
Virginia |
1,809 | 70 | 5 | 65 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 1.7 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 0.3 | 3.6 |
Washington |
1,875 | 26 | 3 | 23 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 1.2 |
West Virginia |
494 | 26 | 10 | 16 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 3.5 | 0.8 | 5.3 | 2.0 | 3.2 |
Wisconsin |
1,748 | 53 | 9 | 44 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 2.5 |
Wyoming |
160 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 4.4 | 0.6 | 3.8 |
NOTE: Data exclude all self-employed persons whether or not their businesses are 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 determine clearly 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 the prevailing Federal minimum wage may not in fact be covered by Federal or State minimum wage laws. Also, there are a number of States that have minimum wages that exceed the Federal minimum wage. 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. |
Last Modified Date: April 8, 2009