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Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers: 2002

Tables 1 - 10

Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage, 2002 annual averages:

by selected characteristics
by census region and division
by State
by major occupation group
by major industry group
by educational attainment
by age and sex
by marital status, age, and sex
by usual hours worked per week
by sex (1979-2002 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, 2002 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			Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15			At or below $5.15
	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15
AGE AND SEX
Total, 16 years and over	72,720	2,168	570	1,598	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	3.0	0.8	2.2
16 to 24 years	16,191	1,158	340	818	22.3	53.4	59.6	51.2	7.2	2.1	5.1
16 to 19 years	5,808	605	226	379	8.0	27.9	39.6	23.7	10.4	3.9	6.5
25 years and over	56,529	1,010	230	780	77.7	46.6	40.4	48.8	1.8	0.4	1.4
Men, 16 years and over	36,135	800	218	582	49.7	36.9	38.2	36.4	2.2	0.6	1.6
16 to 24 years	8,242	453	146	307	11.3	20.9	25.6	19.2	5.5	1.8	3.7
16 to 19 years	2,850	243	97	146	3.9	11.2	17.0	9.1	8.5	3.4	5.1
25 years and over	27,893	347	72	275	38.4	16.0	12.6	17.2	1.2	0.3	1.0
Women, 16 years and over	36,585	1,368	352	1,016	50.3	63.1	61.8	63.6	3.7	1.0	2.8
16 to 24 years	7,949	705	194	511	10.9	32.5	34.0	32.0	8.9	2.4	6.4
16 to 19 years	2,958	361	128	233	4.1	16.7	22.5	14.6	12.2	4.3	7.9
25 years and over	28,636	663	158	505	39.4	30.6	27.7	31.6	2.3	0.6	1.8
RACE, SEX AND HISPANIC ORIGIN
White	59,199	1,781	452	1,329	81.4	82.1	79.3	83.2	3.0	0.8	2.2
Men	29,829	626	162	464	41.0	28.9	28.4	29.0	2.1	0.5	1.6
Women	29,370	1,155	290	865	40.4	53.3	50.9	54.1	3.9	1.0	2.9
Black	9,692	276	89	187	13.3	12.7	15.6	11.7	2.8	0.9	1.9
Men	4,469	129	44	85	6.1	6.0	7.7	5.3	2.9	1.0	1.9
Women	5,224	147	45	102	7.2	6.8	7.9	6.4	2.8	0.9	2.0
Hispanic origin	11,206	305	110	195	15.4	14.1	19.3	12.2	2.7	1.0	1.7
Men	6,624	144	47	97	9.1	6.6	8.2	6.1	2.2	0.7	1.5
Women	4,582	162	64	98	6.3	7.5	11.2	6.1	3.5	1.4	2.1
FULL- AND PART-TIME STATUS AND SEX
Full-time workers	55,029	851	169	682	75.7	39.3	29.6	42.7	1.5	0.3	1.2
Men	30,472	367	82	285	41.9	16.9	14.4	17.8	1.2	0.3	0.9
Women	24,557	483	87	396	33.8	22.3	15.3	24.8	2.0	0.4	1.6
Part-time workers	17,568	1,309	401	908	24.2	60.4	70.4	56.8	7.5	2.3	5.2
Men	5,599	430	136	294	7.7	19.8	23.9	18.4	7.7	2.4	5.3
Women	11,969	879	265	614	16.5	40.5	46.5	38.4	7.3	2.2	5.1

NOTE: Data exclude the incorporated self-employed. Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Also note that 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.

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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, 2002 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			Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15			At or below $5.15
	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15
Total, 16 years and over	72,720	2,168	570	1,598	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	3.0	0.8	2.2
Northeast	13,164	408	83	325	18.1	18.8	14.6	20.3	3.1	0.6	2.5
New England	3,817	85	10	75	5.2	3.9	1.8	4.7	2.2	0.3	2.0
Middle Atlantic	9,347	323	73	250	12.9	14.9	12.8	15.6	3.5	0.8	2.7
Midwest	18,797	570	138	432	25.8	26.3	24.2	27.0	3.0	0.7	2.3
East North Central	12,955	403	92	311	17.8	18.6	16.1	19.5	3.1	0.7	2.4
West North Central	5,842	166	46	120	8.0	7.7	8.1	7.5	2.8	0.8	2.1
South	24,324	901	263	638	33.4	41.6	46.1	39.9	3.7	1.1	2.6
South Atlantic	12,500	411	66	345	17.2	19.0	11.6	21.6	3.3	0.5	2.8
East South Central	4,256	161	66	95	5.9	7.4	11.6	5.9	3.8	1.6	2.2
West South Central	7,568	329	131	198	10.4	15.2	23.0	12.4	4.3	1.7	2.6
West	16,436	288	85	203	22.6	13.3	14.9	12.7	1.8	0.5	1.2
Mountain	4,939	172	68	104	6.8	7.9	11.9	6.5	3.5	1.4	2.1
Pacific	11,497	116	17	99	15.8	5.4	3.0	6.2	1.0	0.1	0.9

NOTE: Data exclude the incorporated self-employed. 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, 2002 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			Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15			At or below $5.15
	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15
Total, 16 years and over	72,720	2,168	570	1,598	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	3.0	0.8	2.2
Alabama	1,054	36	11	25	1.4	1.7	1.9	1.6	3.4	1.0	2.4
Alaska	190	2	1	1	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.1	1.1	0.5	0.5
Arizona	1,293	52	20	32	1.8	2.4	3.5	2.0	4.0	1.5	2.5
Arkansas	653	34	15	19	0.9	1.6	2.6	1.2	5.2	2.3	2.9
California	8,441	85	13	72	11.6	3.9	2.3	4.5	1.0	0.2	0.9
Colorado	1,141	34	5	29	1.6	1.6	0.9	1.8	3.0	0.4	2.5
Connecticut	882	15	3	12	1.2	0.7	0.5	0.8	1.7	0.3	1.4
Delaware	201	5	1	4	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.3	2.5	0.5	2.0
District of Columbia	117	4	1	3	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	3.4	0.9	2.6
Florida	3,851	145	20	125	5.3	6.7	3.5	7.8	3.8	0.5	3.2
Georgia	1,972	55	3	52	2.7	2.5	0.5	3.3	2.8	0.2	2.6
Hawaii	293	6	-	6	0.4	0.3	-	0.4	2.0	-	2.0
Idaho	378	15	4	11	0.5	0.7	0.7	0.7	4.0	1.1	2.9
Illinois	3,169	97	31	66	4.4	4.5	5.4	4.1	3.1	1.0	2.1
Indiana	1,802	54	5	49	2.5	2.5	0.9	3.1	3.0	0.3	2.7
Iowa	900	29	5	24	1.2	1.3	0.9	1.5	3.2	0.6	2.7
Kansas	784	24	9	15	1.1	1.1	1.6	0.9	3.1	1.1	1.9
Kentucky	1,061	49	17	32	1.5	2.3	3.0	2.0	4.6	1.6	3.0
Louisiana	1,034	54	23	31	1.4	2.5	4.0	1.9	5.2	2.2	3.0
Maine	391	11	2	9	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.6	2.8	0.5	2.3
Maryland	1,347	35	3	32	1.9	1.6	0.5	2.0	2.6	0.2	2.4
Massachusetts	1,682	38	3	35	2.3	1.8	0.5	2.2	2.3	0.2	2.1
Michigan	2,884	88	17	71	4.0	4.1	3.0	4.4	3.1	0.6	2.5
Minnesota	1,608	32	11	21	2.2	1.5	1.9	1.3	2.0	0.7	1.3
Mississippi	640	34	17	17	0.9	1.6	3.0	1.1	5.3	2.7	2.7
Missouri	1,610	48	10	38	2.2	2.2	1.8	2.4	3.0	0.6	2.4
Montana	241	7	5	2	0.3	0.3	0.9	0.1	2.9	2.1	0.8
Nebraska	515	18	6	12	0.7	0.8	1.1	0.8	3.5	1.2	2.3
Nevada	612	15	9	6	0.8	0.7	1.6	0.4	2.5	1.5	1.0
New Hampshire	383	10	1	9	0.5	0.5	0.2	0.6	2.6	0.3	2.3
New Jersey	1,920	72	11	61	2.6	3.3	1.9	3.8	3.8	0.6	3.2
New Mexico	488	23	14	9	0.7	1.1	2.5	0.6	4.7	2.9	1.8
New York	4,030	136	35	101	5.5	6.3	6.1	6.3	3.4	0.9	2.5
North Carolina	2,043	64	10	54	2.8	3.0	1.8	3.4	3.1	0.5	2.6
North Dakota	192	8	4	4	0.3	0.4	0.7	0.3	4.2	2.1	2.1
Ohio	3,323	125	33	92	4.6	5.8	5.8	5.8	3.8	1.0	2.8
Oklahoma	869	35	15	20	1.2	1.6	2.6	1.3	4.0	1.7	2.3
Oregon	924	11	2	9	1.3	0.5	0.4	0.6	1.2	0.2	1.0
Pennsylvania	3,397	116	27	89	4.7	5.4	4.7	5.6	3.4	0.8	2.6
Rhode Island	291	8	1	7	0.4	0.4	0.2	0.4	2.7	0.3	2.4
South Carolina	930	31	8	23	1.3	1.4	1.4	1.4	3.3	0.9	2.5
South Dakota	234	7	2	5	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.3	3.0	0.9	2.1
Tennesee	1,499	43	21	22	2.1	2.0	3.7	1.4	2.9	1.4	1.5
Texas	5,013	207	78	129	6.9	9.5	13.7	8.1	4.1	1.6	2.6
Utah	644	17	8	9	0.9	0.8	1.4	0.6	2.6	1.2	1.4
Vermont	189	4	1	3	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2	2.1	0.5	1.6
Virginia	1,596	48	8	40	2.2	2.2	1.4	2.5	3.0	0.5	2.5
Washington	1,648	12	1	11	2.3	0.6	0.2	0.7	0.7	0.1	0.7
West Virginia	443	25	13	12	0.6	1.2	2.3	0.8	5.6	2.9	2.7
Wisconsin	1,776	39	6	33	2.4	1.8	1.1	2.1	2.2	0.3	1.9
Wyoming	141	5	2	3	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.2	3.5	1.4	2.1

NOTE: Data exclude the incorporated self-employed. 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 represents zero.

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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, 2002 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			Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15			At or below $5.15
	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15
Total, 16 years and over	72,720	2,168	570	1,598	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	3.0	0.8	2.2
Managerial and professional specialty	10,744	73	25	48	14.8	3.4	4.4	3.0	0.7	0.2	0.4
Executive, administrative, and managerial	4,531	34	6	28	6.2	1.6	1.1	1.8	0.8	0.1	0.6
Professional specialty	6,212	39	19	20	8.5	1.8	3.3	1.3	0.6	0.3	0.3
Technical, sales, and administrative support	22,594	331	174	157	31.1	15.3	30.5	9.8	1.5	0.8	0.7
Technicians and related support	2,801	11	6	5	3.9	0.5	1.1	0.3	0.4	0.2	0.2
Sales occupations	7,467	205	108	97	10.3	9.5	18.9	6.1	2.7	1.4	1.3
Administrative support, including clerical	12,326	115	61	54	16.9	5.3	10.7	3.4	0.9	0.5	0.4
Service occupations	14,235	1,454	263	1,191	19.6	67.1	46.1	74.5	10.2	1.8	8.4
Private household	371	63	5	58	0.5	2.9	0.9	3.6	17.0	1.3	15.6
Protective service	1,655	18	3	15	2.3	0.8	0.5	0.9	1.1	0.2	0.9
Service, except private household and protective	12,209	1,373	254	1,119	16.8	63.3	44.6	70.0	11.2	2.1	9.2
Food service workers	5,839	1,141	166	975	8.0	52.6	29.1	61.0	19.5	2.8	16.7
Health service workers	2,416	44	12	32	3.3	2.0	2.1	2.0	1.8	0.5	1.3
Cleaning and building service workers	2,439	80	34	46	3.4	3.7	6.0	2.9	3.3	1.4	1.9
Personal service workers	1,514	109	42	67	2.1	5.0	7.4	4.2	7.2	2.8	4.4
Precision production, craft, and repair	9,535	55	12	43	13.1	2.5	2.1	2.7	0.6	0.1	0.5
Mechanics and repairers	3,157	17	2	15	4.3	0.8	0.4	0.9	0.5	0.1	0.5
Construction trades	3,846	22	4	18	5.3	1.0	0.7	1.1	0.6	0.1	0.5
Other precision, production, craft, and repair	2,532	17	7	10	3.5	0.8	1.2	0.6	0.7	0.3	0.4
Operators, fabricators, and laborers	14,170	217	80	137	19.5	10.0	14.0	8.6	1.5	0.6	1.0
Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors	5,610	47	17	30	7.7	2.2	3.0	1.9	0.8	0.3	0.5
Transportation and material moving	3,745	49	11	38	5.1	2.3	1.9	2.4	1.3	0.3	1.0
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers	4,815	121	52	69	6.6	5.6	9.1	4.3	2.5	1.1	1.4
Farming, forestry, and fishing	1,443	37	15	22	2.0	1.7	2.6	1.4	2.6	1.0	1.5

NOTE: Data exclude the incorporated self-employed.

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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, 2002 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			Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15			At or below $5.15
	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15
Total, 16 years and over	72,720	2,168	570	1,598	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	3.0	0.8	2.2
Private sector	63,670	2,027	509	1,518	87.6	93.5	89.3	95.0	3.2	0.8	2.4
Goods-producing industries	17,909	135	46	89	24.6	6.2	8.1	5.6	0.8	0.3	0.5
Agriculture	1,220	29	10	19	1.7	1.3	1.8	1.2	2.4	0.8	1.6
Mining	286	1	-	1	0.4	-	-	0.1	0.3	-	0.3
Construction	5,049	39	5	34	6.9	1.8	0.9	2.1	0.8	0.1	0.7
Manufacturing	11,355	66	31	35	15.6	3.0	5.4	2.2	0.6	0.3	0.3
Durable goods	6,833	38	17	21	9.4	1.8	3.0	1.3	0.6	0.2	0.3
Nondurable goods	4,521	28	14	14	6.2	1.3	2.5	0.9	0.6	0.3	0.3
Service-producing industries	45,760	1,891	463	1,428	62.9	87.2	81.2	89.4	4.1	1.0	3.1
Transportation and public utilities	4,209	39	8	31	5.8	1.8	1.4	1.9	0.9	0.2	0.7
Wholesale trade	2,230	13	4	9	3.1	0.6	0.7	0.6	0.6	0.2	0.4
Retail trade	15,874	1,340	294	1,046	21.8	61.8	51.6	65.5	8.4	1.9	6.6
Finance, insurance, and real estate	3,010	22	8	14	4.1	1.0	1.4	0.9	0.7	0.3	0.5
Services	20,436	476	148	328	28.1	22.0	26.0	20.5	2.3	0.7	1.6
Private households	414	66	6	60	0.6	3.0	1.1	3.8	15.9	1.4	14.5
Other services	20,022	412	143	269	27.5	19.0	25.1	16.8	2.1	0.7	1.3
Business, auto, and repair services	4,254	63	23	40	5.8	2.9	4.0	2.5	1.5	0.5	0.9
Personal services	1,829	114	42	72	2.5	5.3	7.4	4.5	6.2	2.3	3.9
Entertainment and recreation	1,391	69	17	52	1.9	3.2	3.0	3.3	5.0	1.2	3.7
Professional services	12,525	165	61	104	17.2	7.6	10.7	6.5	1.3	0.5	0.8
Forestry and fisheries	23	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Public sector	9,050	142	61	81	12.4	6.5	10.7	5.1	1.6	0.7	0.9
Federal	1,786	22	7	15	2.5	1.0	1.2	0.9	1.2	0.4	0.8
State	2,382	50	23	27	3.3	2.3	4.0	1.7	2.1	1.0	1.1
Local	4,882	69	30	39	6.7	3.2	5.3	2.4	1.4	0.6	0.8

NOTE: Data exclude the incorporated self-employed. Dash represents zero.

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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, 2002 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			Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15			At or below $5.15
	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15
Total, 16 years and over	72,720	2,168	570	1,598	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	3.0	0.8	2.2
Less than a high school diploma	12,577	717	257	460	17.3	33.1	45.1	28.8	5.7	2.0	3.7
Less than 1 year of high school	3,389	120	42	78	4.7	5.5	7.4	4.9	3.5	1.2	2.3
1 to 3 years of high school	7,902	543	201	342	10.9	25.0	35.3	21.4	6.9	2.5	4.3
4 years of high school, no diploma	1,287	55	14	41	1.8	2.5	2.5	2.6	4.3	1.1	3.2
High school graduates or more	60,143	1,451	313	1,138	82.7	66.9	54.9	71.2	2.4	0.5	1.9
High school graduates, no college	27,428	655	161	494	37.7	30.2	28.2	30.9	2.4	0.6	1.8
Some college, no degree	16,376	535	118	417	22.5	24.7	20.7	26.1	3.3	0.7	2.5
Associate degree	6,911	94	17	77	9.5	4.3	3.0	4.8	1.4	0.2	1.1
Occupational program	3,867	53	9	44	5.3	2.4	1.6	2.8	1.4	0.2	1.1
Academic program	3,043	41	8	33	4.2	1.9	1.4	2.1	1.3	0.3	1.1
College graduates, total	9,428	167	16	151	13.0	7.7	2.8	9.4	1.8	0.2	1.6
Bachelor's degree	7,579	149	14	135	10.4	6.9	2.5	8.4	2.0	0.2	1.8
Master's degree	1,460	14	2	12	2.0	0.6	0.4	0.8	1.0	0.1	0.8
Professional degree	255	3	-	3	0.4	0.1	-	0.2	1.2	-	1.2
Doctoral degree	134	1	-	1	0.2	-	-	0.1	0.7	-	0.7

NOTE: Data exclude the incorporated self-employed. Dash represents zero.

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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, 2002 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			Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15			At or below $5.15
	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15
BOTH SEXES
Total, 16 years and over	72,720	2,168	570	1,598	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	3.0	0.8	2.2
Under 25 years	16,191	1,158	340	818	22.3	53.4	59.6	51.2	7.2	2.1	5.1
16 to 19 years	5,808	605	226	379	8.0	27.9	39.6	23.7	10.4	3.9	6.5
20 to 24 years	10,383	553	114	439	14.3	25.5	20.0	27.5	5.3	1.1	4.2
25 years and over	56,529	1,010	230	780	77.7	46.6	40.4	48.8	1.8	0.4	1.4
25 to 34 years	16,357	375	81	294	22.5	17.3	14.2	18.4	2.3	0.5	1.8
25 to 29 years	8,120	208	48	160	11.2	9.6	8.4	10.0	2.6	0.6	2.0
30 to 34 years	8,237	167	33	134	11.3	7.7	5.8	8.4	2.0	0.4	1.6
35 to 44 years	17,151	264	59	205	23.6	12.2	10.4	12.8	1.5	0.3	1.2
35 to 39 years	8,408	139	33	106	11.6	6.4	5.8	6.6	1.7	0.4	1.3
40 to 44 years	8,744	125	26	99	12.0	5.8	4.6	6.2	1.4	0.3	1.1
45 to 54 years	14,190	167	31	136	19.5	7.7	5.4	8.5	1.2	0.2	1.0
45 to 49 years	7,888	97	18	79	10.8	4.5	3.2	4.9	1.2	0.2	1.0
50 to 54 years	6,302	69	13	56	8.7	3.2	2.3	3.5	1.1	0.2	0.9
55 to 64 years	6,883	106	25	81	9.5	4.9	4.4	5.1	1.5	0.4	1.2
55 to 59 years	4,413	57	12	45	6.1	2.6	2.1	2.8	1.3	0.3	1.0
60 to 64 years	2,471	49	13	36	3.4	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.0	0.5	1.5
65 years and over	1,948	99	34	65	2.7	4.6	6.0	4.1	5.1	1.7	3.3
65 to 69 years	1,107	52	14	38	1.5	2.4	2.5	2.4	4.7	1.3	3.4
70 years and over	841	47	20	27	1.2	2.2	3.5	1.7	5.6	2.4	3.2
MEN
Total, 16 years and over	36,135	800	218	582	49.7	36.9	38.2	36.4	2.2	0.6	1.6
Under 25 years	8,242	453	146	307	11.3	20.9	25.6	19.2	5.5	1.8	3.7
16 to 19 years	2,850	243	97	146	3.9	11.2	17.0	9.1	8.5	3.4	5.1
20 to 24 years	5,392	210	49	161	7.4	9.7	8.6	10.1	3.9	0.9	3.0
25 years and over	27,893	347	72	275	38.4	16.0	12.6	17.2	1.2	0.3	1.0
25 to 34 years	8,712	136	26	110	12.0	6.3	4.6	6.9	1.6	0.3	1.3
25 to 29 years	4,340	86	18	68	6.0	4.0	3.2	4.3	2.0	0.4	1.6
30 to 34 years	4,372	52	9	43	6.0	2.4	1.6	2.7	1.2	0.2	1.0
35 to 44 years	8,428	87	16	71	11.6	4.0	2.8	4.4	1.0	0.2	0.8
35 to 39 years	4,225	45	8	37	5.8	2.1	1.4	2.3	1.1	0.2	0.9
40 to 44 years	4,203	43	8	35	5.8	2.0	1.4	2.2	1.0	0.2	0.8
45 to 54 years	6,655	57	13	44	9.2	2.6	2.3	2.8	0.9	0.2	0.7
45 to 49 years	3,686	32	7	25	5.1	1.5	1.2	1.6	0.9	0.2	0.7
50 to 54 years	2,969	25	6	19	4.1	1.2	1.1	1.2	0.8	0.2	0.6
55 to 64 years	3,190	32	5	27	4.4	1.5	0.9	1.7	1.0	0.2	0.8
55 to 59 years	2,058	14	1	13	2.8	0.6	0.2	0.8	0.7	0.0	0.6
60 to 64 years	1,132	17	3	14	1.6	0.8	0.5	0.9	1.5	0.3	1.2
65 years and over	907	35	12	23	1.2	1.6	2.1	1.4	3.9	1.3	2.5
65 to 69 years	527	24	8	16	0.7	1.1	1.4	1.0	4.6	1.5	3.0
70 years and over	380	11	5	6	0.5	0.5	0.9	0.4	2.9	1.3	1.6
WOMEN
Total, 16 years and over	36,585	1,368	352	1,016	50.3	63.1	61.8	63.6	3.7	1.0	2.8
Under 25 years	7,949	705	194	511	10.9	32.5	34.0	32.0	8.9	2.4	6.4
16 to 19 years	2,958	361	128	233	4.1	16.7	22.5	14.6	12.2	4.3	7.9
20 to 24 years	4,991	343	65	278	6.9	15.8	11.4	17.4	6.9	1.3	5.6
25 years and over	28,636	663	158	505	39.4	30.6	27.7	31.6	2.3	0.6	1.8
25 to 34 years	7,644	238	55	183	10.5	11.0	9.6	11.5	3.1	0.7	2.4
25 to 29 years	3,779	122	30	92	5.2	5.6	5.3	5.8	3.2	0.8	2.4
30 to 34 years	3,865	116	25	91	5.3	5.4	4.4	5.7	3.0	0.6	2.4
35 to 44 years	8,723	177	43	134	12.0	8.2	7.5	8.4	2.0	0.5	1.5
35 to 39 years	4,182	94	25	69	5.8	4.3	4.4	4.3	2.2	0.6	1.6
40 to 44 years	4,541	83	19	64	6.2	3.8	3.3	4.0	1.8	0.4	1.4
45 to 54 years	7,535	109	18	91	10.4	5.0	3.2	5.7	1.4	0.2	1.2
45 to 49 years	4,202	65	11	54	5.8	3.0	1.9	3.4	1.5	0.3	1.3
50 to 54 years	3,333	44	7	37	4.6	2.0	1.2	2.3	1.3	0.2	1.1
55 to 64 years	3,693	74	20	54	5.1	3.4	3.5	3.4	2.0	0.5	1.5
55 to 59 years	2,354	43	11	32	3.2	2.0	1.9	2.0	1.8	0.5	1.4
60 to 64 years	1,338	31	9	22	1.8	1.4	1.6	1.4	2.3	0.7	1.6
65 years and over	1,041	65	22	43	1.4	3.0	3.9	2.7	6.2	2.1	4.1
65 to 69 years	580	29	7	22	0.8	1.3	1.2	1.4	5.0	1.2	3.8
70 years and over	461	36	15	21	0.6	1.7	2.6	1.3	7.8	3.3	4.6

NOTE: Data exclude the incorporated self-employed.

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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, 2002 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			Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15			At or below $5.15
	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15
BOTH SEXES
Total, 16 years and over	72,720	2,168	570	1,598	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	3.0	0.8	2.2
Never married	24,983	1,366	380	986	34.4	63.0	66.7	61.7	5.5	1.5	3.9
16 to 24 years	14,167	1,074	319	755	19.5	49.5	56.0	47.2	7.6	2.3	5.3
25 years and over	10,815	292	61	231	14.9	13.5	10.7	14.5	2.7	0.6	2.1
25 to 54 years	10,340	277	57	220	14.2	12.8	10.0	13.8	2.7	0.6	2.1
Married, spouse present	35,558	496	108	388	48.9	22.9	18.9	24.3	1.4	0.3	1.1
16 to 24 years	1,623	54	13	41	2.2	2.5	2.3	2.6	3.3	0.8	2.5
25 years and over	33,935	442	95	347	46.7	20.4	16.7	21.7	1.3	0.3	1.0
25 to 54 years	28,242	341	69	272	38.8	15.7	12.1	17.0	1.2	0.2	1.0
Other marital status	12,179	306	82	224	16.7	14.1	14.4	14.0	2.5	0.7	1.8
16 to 24 years	400	30	8	22	0.6	1.4	1.4	1.4	7.5	2.0	5.5
25 years and over	11,778	277	74	203	16.2	12.8	13.0	12.7	2.4	0.6	1.7
25 to 54 years	9,116	187	45	142	12.5	8.6	7.9	8.9	2.1	0.5	1.6
MEN
Total, 16 years and over	36,135	800	218	582	49.7	36.9	38.2	36.4	2.2	0.6	1.6
Never married	13,393	571	163	408	18.4	26.3	28.6	25.5	4.3	1.2	3.0
16 to 24 years	7,365	431	139	292	10.1	19.9	24.4	18.3	5.9	1.9	4.0
25 years and over	6,027	141	24	117	8.3	6.5	4.2	7.3	2.3	0.4	1.9
25 to 54 years	5,817	134	23	111	8.0	6.2	4.0	6.9	2.3	0.4	1.9
Married, spouse present	18,107	159	35	124	24.9	7.3	6.1	7.8	0.9	0.2	0.7
16 to 24 years	721	13	4	9	1.0	0.6	0.7	0.6	1.8	0.6	1.2
25 years and over	17,386	146	31	115	23.9	6.7	5.4	7.2	0.8	0.2	0.7
25 to 54 years	14,248	101	21	80	19.6	4.7	3.7	5.0	0.7	0.1	0.6
Other marital status	4,635	70	20	50	6.4	3.2	3.5	3.1	1.5	0.4	1.1
16 to 24 years	155	9	3	6	0.2	0.4	0.5	0.4	5.8	1.9	3.9
25 years and over	4,479	60	17	43	6.2	2.8	3.0	2.7	1.3	0.4	1.0
25 to 54 years	3,730	45	11	34	5.1	2.1	1.9	2.1	1.2	0.3	0.9
WOMEN
Total, 16 years and over	36,585	1,368	352	1,016	50.3	63.1	61.8	63.6	3.7	1.0	2.8
Never married	11,590	794	217	577	15.9	36.6	38.1	36.1	6.9	1.9	5.0
16 to 24 years	6,802	644	180	464	9.4	29.7	31.6	29.0	9.5	2.6	6.8
25 years and over	4,788	151	37	114	6.6	7.0	6.5	7.1	3.2	0.8	2.4
25 to 54 years	4,523	142	34	108	6.2	6.5	6.0	6.8	3.1	0.8	2.4
Married, spouse present	17,451	338	74	264	24.0	15.6	13.0	16.5	1.9	0.4	1.5
16 to 24 years	902	41	9	32	1.2	1.9	1.6	2.0	4.5	1.0	3.5
25 years and over	16,549	296	64	232	22.8	13.7	11.2	14.5	1.8	0.4	1.4
25 to 54 years	13,994	240	48	192	19.2	11.1	8.4	12.0	1.7	0.3	1.4
Other marital status	7,544	237	62	175	10.4	10.9	10.9	11.0	3.1	0.8	2.3
16 to 24 years	245	20	5	15	0.3	0.9	0.9	0.9	8.2	2.0	6.1
25 years and over	7,299	216	57	159	10.0	10.0	10.0	9.9	3.0	0.8	2.2
25 to 54 years	5,386	143	35	108	7.4	6.6	6.1	6.8	2.7	0.6	2.0

NOTE: Data exclude the incorporated self-employed.

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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 per week, 2002 annual averages
Usual hours worked per week	Number of workers (in thousands)				Percent distribution				Percent of workers paid hourly rates
	Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15			Total paid hourly rates	At or below $5.15			At or below $5.15
	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total paid hourly rates	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15	Total	At $5.15	Below $5.15
Total, 16 years and over	72,720	2,168	570	1,598	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	3.0	0.8	2.2
Hours vary	4,818	278	64	214	6.6	12.8	11.2	13.4	5.8	1.3	4.4
0 to 34 hours	15,651	1,147	358	789	21.5	52.9	62.8	49.4	7.3	2.3	5.0
0 to 4 hours	335	33	11	22	0.5	1.5	1.9	1.4	9.9	3.3	6.6
5 to 9 hours	864	82	34	48	1.2	3.8	6.0	3.0	9.5	3.9	5.6
10 to 14 hours	1,471	136	48	88	2.0	6.3	8.4	5.5	9.2	3.3	6.0
15 to 19 hours	2,153	175	57	118	3.0	8.1	10.0	7.4	8.1	2.6	5.5
20 to 24 hours	4,755	357	128	229	6.5	16.5	22.5	14.3	7.5	2.7	4.8
25 to 29 hours	2,120	150	39	111	2.9	6.9	6.8	6.9	7.1	1.8	5.2
30 to 34 hours	3,953	214	41	173	5.4	9.9	7.2	10.8	5.4	1.0	4.4
35 hours or more	52,250	743	148	595	71.9	34.3	26.0	37.2	1.4	0.3	1.1
35 to 39 hours	4,773	205	32	173	6.6	9.5	5.6	10.8	4.3	0.7	3.6
40 hours or more	47,478	538	116	422	65.3	24.8	20.4	26.4	1.1	0.2	0.9
40 hours	41,009	451	105	346	56.4	20.8	18.4	21.7	1.1	0.3	0.8
41 hours or more	6,469	87	11	76	8.9	4.0	1.9	4.8	1.3	0.2	1.2
41 to 44 hours	879	8	2	6	1.2	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.9	0.2	0.7
45 to 48 hours	2,353	28	4	24	3.2	1.3	0.7	1.5	1.2	0.2	1.0
49 to 59 hours	2,298	35	3	32	3.2	1.6	0.5	2.0	1.5	0.1	1.4
60 hours or more	939	17	2	15	1.3	0.8	0.4	0.9	1.8	0.2	1.6

NOTE: Data exclude the incorporated self-employed.

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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, 1979-2002 annual averages
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
		Total	Percent of total wage and salary workers	Below prevailing Federal minimum wage	At 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)2,132	(2)1,096	(2)3,228	(2)5.1
1991	103,723	62,627	60.4	(2)2,377	(2)2,906	(2)5,283	(2)8.4
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	(2)1,863	(2)1,861	(2)3,724	(2)5.4
1997(1)	114,533	70,735	61.8	(2)2,990	(2)1,764	(2)4,754	(2)6.7
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)	122,292	73,638	60.2	1,853	870	2,724	3.7
2001	122,401	73,467	60.0	1,615	638	2,253	3.1
2002	122,009	72,720	59.6	1,598	570	2,168	3.0
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	(2)712	(2)385	(2)1,097	(2)3.4
1991	54,618	31,639	57.9	(2)795	(2)1,114	(2)1,909	(2)6.0
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	(2)619	(2)755	(2)1,374	(2)3.9
1997(1)	59,825	35,521	59.4	(2)1,147	(2)673	(2)1,820	(2)5.1
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)	63,752	36,771	57.7	638	324	962	2.6
2001	63,706	36,649	57.5	530	250	780	2.1
2002	63,384	36,135	57.0	582	218	800	2.2
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	(2)1,420	(2)711	(2)2,131	(2)6.9
1991	49,105	30,988	63.1	(2)1,582	(2)1,792	(2)3,374	(2)10.9
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	(2)1,244	(2)1,106	(2)2,350	(2)6.8
1997(1)	54,708	35,214	64.4	(2)1,843	(2)1,092	(2)2,935	(2)8.3
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)	58,540	36,867	63.0	1,215	547	1,762	4.8
2001	58,695	36,818	62.7	1,085	388	1,473	4.0
2002	58,625	36,585	62.4	1,016	352	1,368	3.7
Footnotes: 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 2003 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. Also note that 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 1998-2002 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 and almost 500,000 in 2002); to some extent, this may reflect rounding on the part of survey respondents.

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These tables accompany Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers: 2002.

Last Modified Date: March 31, 2005