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News Release Information

14-496-ATL
Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

Minimum Wage Workers in Kentucky-2013

Of the 1.2 million workers paid hourly rates in Kentucky in 2013, 32,000 earned exactly the prevailing federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, while 17,000 earned less, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the 49,000 Kentucky workers earning the federal minimum wage or less made up 4.3 percent of all hourly-paid workers in the state, matching the 4.3 percent of the hourly-paid workforce earning the federal minimum wage or less nationwide. (The Kentucky minimum wage is equal to the prevailing federal minimum wage.)

In 2006, 26,000 hourly-paid workers earned the prevailing Federal minimum wage or less in Kentucky—the lowest level since data was first available in 2000–accounting for 2.2 percent of all workers paid an hourly wage. (See chart 1). In 2007, the Federal minimum wage began increasing after holding steady for nearly a decade. The initial result in Kentucky was that more workers fell into this category, peaking at 91,000 in 2010, before declining in each of the last three years.

From 2012 to 2013, the portion of hourly-paid workers in Kentucky who earned at or below the federal minimum wage declined from 5.2 to 4.3 percent. The percentage of workers earning less than the federal minimum declined 1.1 percent in 2013, while the share earning exactly the minimum wage increased 0.2 percent. As a result, 2013 was the first year in Kentucky that the percentage of workers with earnings at the federal minimum wage rate was greater than the portion with wages below the minimum.

Of the 49,000 workers earning the prevailing federal minimum wage or less in Kentucky in 2013, 34,000, or 69 percent, were women. These women represented 5.8 percent of all women paid hourly rates in the state. There were 16,000 men earning the prevailing minimum wage or less in Kentucky; they made up 2.9 percent of all men who were paid hourly rates in the state. (See table A.)

Overall, employed wage and salary workers earning hourly rates in Kentucky had median hourly earnings of $12.42 in 2013; nationally, the median was $12.93. The median hourly rates for men and women in Kentucky in 2013 were $13.50 and $11.96, respectively. (See table A.) For the nation, the comparable figures were $14.00 per hour for men and $12.12 per hour for women.
 

Table A. Employed wage and salary workers1 paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage in Kentucky, by sex, annual averages, 2003-2013
 
KentuckyNumber of workers (in thousands)Percent of workers paid hourly ratesMedian earnings (in dollars)
Total paid hourly ratesAt or below minimum wageAt or below minimum wage
TotalAt minimum wageBelow minimum wageTotalAt minimum wageBelow minimum wage
Total, both sexes        

2003

1,1033610263.30.92.410.17

2004

1,1484515303.91.32.610.37

2005

1,120359263.10.82.311.01

2006

1,175268182.20.71.511.19

2007

1,152359263.00.82.311.41

2008

1,101459364.10.83.311.67

2009

1,0707732457.23.04.211.70

2010

1,1199143488.13.84.312.18

2011

1,0776330335.82.83.112.08

2012

1,1476030305.22.62.612.42

2013

1,1504932174.32.81.512.42
Total, men        

2003

53313582.40.91.511.73

2004

578228143.81.42.411.65

2005

5477251.30.40.912.04

2006

59113492.20.71.512.40

2007

584155102.60.91.712.75

2008

559172153.00.42.712.96

2009

522256194.81.13.612.62

2010

5212714135.22.72.513.94

2011

508211294.12.41.812.85

2012

563191183.42.01.413.68

2013

559161062.91.81.113.50
Total, women        

2003

570245194.20.93.39.27

2004

571237164.01.22.89.79

2005

573288204.91.43.510.08

2006

58313582.20.91.410.35

2007

568204163.50.72.810.19

2008

541287215.21.33.910.62

2009

5495226269.54.74.710.84

2010

59862283410.44.75.711.04

2011

5684218247.43.24.211.58

2012

5834220227.23.43.811.52

2013

5913423115.83.91.911.96

1 All self-employed persons are excluded, whether or not their businesses are incorporated.

In 2013, Kentucky’s proportion of hourly-paid workers earning at or below the federal minimum wage ranked near the middle among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Tennessee had the highest proportion of hourly-paid workers earning at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage, 7.4 percent, followed by Idaho at 7.1 percent. The states with the lowest percentage of workers earning the federal minimum wage or below included Oregon, California, and Washington, all less than 2.0 percent. It should be noted that, as of January 1, 2014, 21 states and the District of Columbia had laws establishing minimum wage standards that exceeded the federal level of $7.25 per hour.(See table 1 and chart 2.)


Technical Note

The estimates in this release are obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), which provides the basic information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment. This survey is conducted monthly for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau, using a scientifically selected national sample of about 60,000 eligible households representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Information on earnings is collected from one-fourth of the CPS sample each month. Data in this summary are annual averages.

Statistics based on the CPS data are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. The differences among data for the states reflect, in part, variations in the occupation, industry, and age composition of each state’s labor force. In addition, sampling error for the state estimates is considerably larger than it is for the national data.

Minimum wage worker data, particularly levels, for each year are not strictly comparable with data for earlier years because of the introduction of revised population controls used in the CPS. For technical documentation and related information, including reliability of the CPS estimates, see www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm.

It should be noted 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 exemptions to the minimum wage provisions of the law. The estimates of the numbers of minimum and subminimum wage workers presented in the accompanying tables pertain to workers paid at hourly rates; salaried and other non-hourly workers are excluded. As such, the actual number of workers with earnings at or below the prevailing minimum is undoubtedly understated.

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, $4.25 in April 1991, $4.75 in October 1996, and $5.15 in September 1997. On July 24, 2007, the federal minimum wage increased to $5.85 per hour; on July 24, 2008, to $6.55 per hour; and on July 24, 2009, to $7.25 per hour.

The principal definitions used in connection with the earnings series in this release are described below:

Median hourly earnings. The median is the amount which divides a given earnings distribution into two equal groups, one having earnings above the median and the other having earnings below the median. The median is less sensitive to extreme wages than the mean; this makes it a better measure for highly skewed distributions.

Wage and salary workers. Workers age 16 and over who receive wages, salaries, commissions, tips, payment in kind, or piece rates. Data refer to earnings on a person’s sole or principal job. The group includes employees in both the private and public sectors but, for the purposes of the earnings series, excludes all self-employed persons, regardless of whether or not their businesses are incorporated.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 800-877-8339.

Table 1. Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage by State, 2013 annual averages
StateNumber of workers (in thousands)Percent distributionPercent of workers paid hourly rates
Total paid hourly ratesAt or below minimum wageTotal paid hourly ratesAt or below minimum wageAt or below minimum wage
TotalAt minimum wageBelow minimum wageTotalAt minimum wageBelow minimum wageTotalAt minimum wageBelow minimum wage

Total, 16 years and over

75,9483,3001,5321,768100.0100.0100.0100.04.32.02.3

Alabama

1,1257744331.52.32.91.96.83.92.9

Alaska

2026420.30.20.30.13.02.01.0

Arizona

1,4215824341.91.81.61.94.11.72.4

Arkansas

6514430140.91.32.00.86.84.62.2

California

8,915118487011.73.63.14.01.30.50.8

Colorado

1,238397321.61.20.51.83.20.62.6

Connecticut

845225171.10.70.31.02.60.62.0

Delaware

20311560.30.30.30.35.42.53.0

District of Columbia

1084130.10.10.10.23.70.92.8

Florida

4,058181391425.35.52.58.04.51.03.5

Georgia

2,16210354492.83.13.52.84.82.52.3

Hawaii

325151050.40.50.70.34.63.11.5

Idaho

411292180.50.91.40.57.15.11.9

Illinois

3,0269622744.02.91.44.23.20.72.4

Indiana

1,73110861472.33.34.02.76.23.52.7

Iowa

9215030201.21.52.01.15.43.32.2

Kansas

7733521141.01.11.40.84.52.71.8

Kentucky

1,1504932171.51.52.11.04.32.81.5

Louisiana

1,0005327261.31.61.81.55.32.72.6

Maine

39013490.50.40.30.53.31.02.3

Maryland

1,3346630361.82.02.02.04.92.22.7

Massachusetts

1,5735412422.11.60.82.43.40.82.7

Michigan

2,5319617793.32.91.14.53.80.73.1

Minnesota

1,5336443212.01.92.81.24.22.81.4

Mississippi

6373920190.81.21.31.16.13.13.0

Missouri

1,5617331422.12.22.02.44.72.02.7

Montana

2856240.40.20.10.22.10.71.4

Nebraska

5672917120.70.91.10.75.13.02.1

Nevada

757208121.00.60.50.72.61.11.6

New Hampshire

36911650.50.30.40.33.01.61.4

New Jersey

1,9089234582.52.82.23.34.81.83.0

New Mexico

460202180.60.60.11.04.30.43.9

New York

4,18817888905.55.45.75.14.32.12.1

North Carolina

2,25113073573.03.94.83.25.83.22.5

North Dakota

2217430.30.20.30.23.21.81.4

Ohio

3,304137321054.44.22.15.94.11.03.2

Oklahoma

9476029311.21.81.91.86.33.13.3

Oregon

97812481.30.40.30.51.20.40.8

Pennsylvania

3,47118996934.65.76.35.35.42.82.7

Rhode Island

286122100.40.40.10.64.20.73.5

South Carolina

1,1286540251.52.02.61.45.83.52.2

South Dakota

25412660.30.40.40.34.72.42.4

Tennessee

1,57511751662.13.53.33.77.43.24.2

Texas

6,2704002231778.312.114.610.06.43.62.8

Utah

7733622141.01.11.40.84.72.81.8

Vermont

1827250.20.20.10.33.81.12.7

Virginia

1,80611258542.43.43.83.16.23.23.0

Washington

1,7933018122.40.91.20.71.71.00.7

West Virginia

4462212100.60.70.80.64.92.72.2

Wisconsin

1,7289159322.32.83.91.85.33.41.9

Wyoming

1769540.20.30.30.25.12.82.3

Note: Data exclude all self-employed persons whether or not their businesses are incorporated. These data are based on a sample and therefore are subject to sampling error; the degree of error may be quite large for less populous states

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, April 22, 2014