As the debate continues in Congress and in states, here are … numbers to help you understand what it means to be making the federal minimum wage, and why it’s long past time for an increase:
62
The number of months since the last minimum wage increase, in July 2009.
12
The number of months between each of the last three minimum wage increases, to $5.85 in July 2007, then to $6.55 in July 2008, and finally to the current $7.25 minimum in July 2009.
23
The number of states — not including Washington, D.C. — that have raised the minimum wage above the federal rate. The highest state minimum wage is in Washington state, at $9.32 an hour — still below the proposed federal minimum.
5.8%
The purchasing power the federal minimum wage has lost to inflation since the last time it was raised, according to Pew data from 2013. The left-leaning National Employment Law Project reports that the real value of the minimum wage peaked in 1968, when its $1.60-an-hour rate would have been worth close to $10.50 in today’s economy.
$21.72
What the minimum wage would have been in 2012 if it had kept up with worker productivity since the late-1940s, according to a study published last year.
Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at 17 Numbers That Will Make You Realize Just How Pathetic The Federal Minimum Wage Is.
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