5 facts about the minimum wage
While the idea of raising the minimum wage is broadly popular, efforts to do so at the national level have stalled. We gathered key facts looking at the issue.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
While the idea of raising the minimum wage is broadly popular, efforts to do so at the national level have stalled. We gathered key facts looking at the issue.
Around half of Americans say the question of working conditions is indeed important to them, though fewer are actually willing to pay more to support businesses that are seen as worker-friendly.
The cost of living can vary widely not just from state to state but within individual states, which can make setting an appropriate minimum wage more difficult.
Just what is “economic inequality”? Depends on whom you ask.
Here’s a roundup of our most-visited blog posts over the past year, along with some insights into the editorial thinking behind them.
Last year an estimated 20.6 million people — 30% of all hourly, non-self-employed workers aged 18 and older in the U.S. — earned above the applicable minimum wage in their state but less than the proposed $10.10/hour minimum.
The restaurant and food service industry is the single biggest employer of near-minimum workers, employing 3.75 million near-minimum workers, about 18% of the total.
Trends in public opinion are in line with Obama’s agenda: The priority given to deficit reduction has slipped somewhat, while public support for rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure has increased.
Perhaps surprisingly, not very many people earn minimum wage, and they make up a smaller share of the workforce than they used to.
Substantially more women than men are in jobs that pay the minimum wage of less, , according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data analyzed by the Pew Research Center.
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ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
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