Current Events > Percentage of hourly workers making minimum wage or less is declining rapidly

(+) Yeah! (+)

Here is the data broken down by year. Each data point is the percentage of hourly workers who are making minimum wage or less.

2013: 4.3%
2014: 3.9%
2015: 3.3%
2016: 2.7%
2017: 2.3%

This represents a substantial reduction since 1979 when the rate was an astronomical 13.4% of hourly workers.

And in the short 5 year period since 2013, the number has been cut nearly in half. I'm curious what 2018 data will show, but with the strong economy the numbers will keep going down.

Sources:

https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/minimum-wage/archive/characteristics-of-minimum-wage-workers-2014.pdf

https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/minimum-wage/2015/home.htm

https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/minimum-wage/2016/home.htm

https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/minimum-wage/2017/home.htm

that's because employers pay $8/hr instead of $7.50

CharlesBronson posted...

that's because employers pay $0/hr

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Has peoples hourly wages increased in significant margins? Have they increased past the rate of inflation?

CharlesBronson posted...

that's because employers pay $8/hr instead of $7.50

https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/minimum-wage/2017/home.htm

Average wage in basically every industry is significantly higher than $8/hr.

http://www.governing.com/gov-data/wage-average-median-pay-data-for-states.html

Same is true of median wages.

CruelBuffalo posted...

Has peoples hourly wages increased in significant margins? Have they increased past the rate of inflation?

Not sure, I'd have to do more research on those specific questions. It's demonstrably true that the pervasive leftist narrative about minimum wage is factually incorrect, though. Most people don't make minimum wage or less. The number who do is going down, and the average and median wages across most industries are already above $15/hr.

CruelBuffalo posted...

Has peoples hourly wages increased in significant margins? Have they increased past the rate of inflation?

not according to the economist i heard on the radio yesterday.
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Do these statistics take STATE minimum wage into consideration? Because 100% of say, Massachusetts is making more than federal

BWLurker posted...

Do these statistics take STATE minimum wage into consideration? Because 100% of say, Massachusetts is making more than federal

This is federal minimum wage. But note that the median hourly wage in Massachusetts per one of my links is more than double the state's minimum wage.

Thanks Obama!
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silentwing26x posted...

BWLurker posted...

Do these statistics take STATE minimum wage into consideration? Because 100% of say, Massachusetts is making more than federal

This is federal minimum wage

Right. So using workers in states where the minimum wage is higher than federal does nothing but pad stats

BWLurker posted...

silentwing26x posted...

BWLurker posted...

Do these statistics take STATE minimum wage into consideration? Because 100% of say, Massachusetts is making more than federal

This is federal minimum wage

Right. So using workers in states where the minimum wage is higher than federal does nothing but pad stats

I included average wages by industry and median wages by state too, for a more complete picture. In Massachusetts the median hourly wage is more than double the state's minimum wage. And it's not padding the stats - there's still a downward trend in the number of people who are making federal minimum wage or less.

bump

Cost of living though.
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TheCyborgNinja posted...

Cost of living though.

Live with room mates until you earn more than the median wage and can afford your own place. Living without room mates is a luxury, not a right.

silentwing26x posted...

BWLurker posted...

silentwing26x posted...

BWLurker posted...

Do these statistics take STATE minimum wage into consideration? Because 100% of say, Massachusetts is making more than federal

This is federal minimum wage

Right. So using workers in states where the minimum wage is higher than federal does nothing but pad stats

I included average wages by industry and median wages by state too, for a more complete picture. In Massachusetts the median hourly wage is more than double the state's minimum wage. And it's not padding the stats - there's still a downward trend in the number of people who are making federal minimum wage or less.

Well that's promising then. Don't get me wrong, I'm not in favor of raising the minimum wage (the idiotic plan that just passed in Mass is gonna hurt us), I just wanted to make sure it wasn't measuring everything simply against the federal. Something needs to seriously be done about cost of living though.

silentwing26x posted...

TheCyborgNinja posted...

Cost of living though.

Live with room mates until you earn more than the median wage and can afford your own place. Living without room mates is a luxury, not a right.

Lol no it isn't.

Living with roommates is what college students do because they can't work full-time, not what grown ass adults do because they aren't making enough to cover rent. It certainly wasn't a luxury with past generations.
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RchHomieQuanChi posted...

not what grown ass adults do because they aren't making enough to cover rent.

If you can't pay for your own rent perhaps you're not a "grown ass adult" yet.
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Kolibri X posted...

RchHomieQuanChi posted...

not what grown ass adults do because they aren't making enough to cover rent.

If you can't pay for your own rent perhaps you're not a "grown ass adult" yet.

Being able to pay for something and affording it are two different things. Young people fresh out of college can probably stretch to pay rent on their own, but that's a terrible idea since they're barely entering the work force.

It's much wiser to live with room mates or at home if you can until some decent rent or a mortgage is 20% or less of your takehome pay.

silentwing26x posted...

Kolibri X posted...

RchHomieQuanChi posted...

not what grown ass adults do because they aren't making enough to cover rent.

If you can't pay for your own rent perhaps you're not a "grown ass adult" yet.

Being able to pay for something and affording it are two different things. Young people fresh out of college can probably stretch to pay rent on their own, but that's a terrible idea since they're barely entering the work force.

It's much wiser to live with room mates or at home if you can until some decent rent or a mortgage is 20% or less of your takehome pay.

And you don't see any issue with that? Young people fresh out of college never had to stretch that much in the past. Living with roommates is a college thing. Entry level salary should be more than enough to have your own apartment.

An adult working full-time should have access to the most basic necessities without the need for government assistance: food, shelter, a way to travel to and from work (either public transport or a functional vehicle) and yes, in 2018, internet access.

People in their mid-20s shouldn't be living like college students.
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BWLurker posted...

silentwing26x posted...

Kolibri X posted...

RchHomieQuanChi posted...

not what grown ass adults do because they aren't making enough to cover rent.

If you can't pay for your own rent perhaps you're not a "grown ass adult" yet.

Being able to pay for something and affording it are two different things. Young people fresh out of college can probably stretch to pay rent on their own, but that's a terrible idea since they're barely entering the work force.

It's much wiser to live with room mates or at home if you can until some decent rent or a mortgage is 20% or less of your takehome pay.

And you don't see any issue with that? Young people fresh out of college never had to stretch that much in the past. Living with roommates is a college thing. Entry level salary should be more than enough to have your own apartment.

No. I don't see an issue with that. You're not entitled to your own place just because you got your first job out of college. If you want your own place out of college, you'd better have majored in something that can provide you with a large starting salary.

And in most places, an entry level salary is more than enough to have your own apartment. Except for extreme edge cases like San Francisco where you'd probably have to commute into the city if you want to work there.

RchHomieQuanChi posted...

An adult working full-time should have access to the most basic necessities without the need for government assistance: food, shelter, a way to travel to and from work (either public transport or a functional vehicle) and yes, in 2018, internet access.

People in their mid-20s shouldn't be living like college students.

Notice how all you're saying is "should this" and "should that." Do you think that's a valid form of argumentation? If so, what if I point out that an adult working full-time can have access to all of those things if they don't enslave themselves with consumer debt and if they don't have kids before they're ready?

With the average wage in most industries, a single adult can live a comfortable life. Even better if you live with your significant other and they also make the average wage or higher.

silentwing26x posted...

No. I don't see an issue with that. You're not entitled to your own place just because you got your first job out of college. If you want your own place out of college, you'd better have majored in something that can provide you with a large starting salary.

And in most places, an entry level salary is more than enough to have your own apartment. Except for extreme edge cases like San Francisco where you'd probably have to commute into the city if you want to work there.

eh

I mean, most people live in larger metro areas. NYC + SF + LA metro area population is roughly 1 in every 8* americans, so im not sure its fair to call them edge cases
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Balrog0 posted...

silentwing26x posted...

No. I don't see an issue with that. You're not entitled to your own place just because you got your first job out of college. If you want your own place out of college, you'd better have majored in something that can provide you with a large starting salary.

And in most places, an entry level salary is more than enough to have your own apartment. Except for extreme edge cases like San Francisco where you'd probably have to commute into the city if you want to work there.

eh

I mean, most people live in larger metro areas. NYC + SF + LA metro area population is roughly 1 in every 8* americans, so im not sure its fair to call them edge cases

Of that 12.5% of the population, the ones who would struggle to have their own apartment on a decent attainable entry level salary are the ones with consumer debt, massive student loans for a worthless degree, or children.

Seems pretty edge casey to me.

silentwing26x posted...

Of that 12.5% of the population, the ones who would struggle to have their own apartment on a decent attainable entry level salary are the ones with consumer debt, massive student loans for a worthless degree, or children.

I don't think so, the housing shortage is causing affordability issues even for what would otherwise be the upper middle class. Granted, different metros have different challenges with affordability, but those three in particular have high housing burdens even for the middle to upper class.
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Balrog0 posted...

silentwing26x posted...

Of that 12.5% of the population, the ones who would struggle to have their own apartment on a decent attainable entry level salary are the ones with consumer debt, massive student loans for a worthless degree, or children.

I don't think so, the housing shortage is causing affordability issues even for what would otherwise be the upper middle class. Granted, different metros have different challenges with affordability, but those three in particular have high housing burdens even for the middle to upper class.

Let's look at an expensive place I'm familiar with because I lived there before: Marina Del Rey in LA.

https://www.bestplaces.net/economy/city/california/marina_del_rey

Average individual income is $71,023. Median household income is $101,860. You can have a nice apartment there on that salary. It'll certainly be more expensive than elsewhere because everyone wants to live there but unless you have children too soon or rack up consumer debt you should be fine.

So it really would be the edge cases in this area that are having the problem, and those problems can be mitigated or eliminated by:

1) Not having kids before you are financially stable
2) Having room mates for a few years so you can save up money for a downpayment on your own place
3) Getting a bigger salary by changing jobs / careers
4) Living a bit further out and commuting to work

etc

If you eliminate California's bullshit from your analysis you'll probably find that it's even more edge casey. And we know that California has a lot of red tape when it comes to building new properties.

bump

silentwing26x posted...

Let's look at an expensive place I'm familiar with because I lived there before: Marina Del Rey in LA.

https://www.bestplaces.net/economy/city/california/marina_del_rey

Average individual income is $71,023. Median household income is $101,860. You can have a nice apartment there on that salary. It'll certainly be more expensive than elsewhere because everyone wants to live there but unless you have children too soon or rack up consumer debt you should be fine.

why not look at the metro level statistics? Marina Del Ray is much more affluent than the LA area overall. only about 12% of households makes less than 30k vs 25% for the LA metro overall. Literally 50% of households have an income above 100k vs 28% for the metro overall

and even then, median rent for a 1br in marina del ray is almost 3k. so for an individual that makes median income there, they need to spend almost a full half of their gross income for a 1br

and you're telling me that the people who cant afford that are the edge cases?
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it seems to me what you're really saying isn't that people who have a hard time affording housing are edge cases, but rather that you think they are responsible for their own situations. that doesn't make it an edge case, though, that is just your sentiments on what should be done to fix the situation
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silentwing26x posted...

If you eliminate California's bullshit from your analysis you'll probably find that it's even more edge casey. And we know that California has a lot of red tape when it comes to building new properties.

You should see the ridiculous NIMBY-ism in SF / Bay Area.
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