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News Release Information

16-1155-ATL
Thursday, June 09, 2016

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

Minimum Wage Workers in North Carolina – 2015

Of the nearly 2.4 million workers paid hourly rates in North Carolina in 2015, 55,000 earned exactly the prevailing federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, while 66,000 earned less, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the 122,000 workers earning the federal minimum wage or less made up 5.1 percent of all hourly paid workers in the state. Nationwide, those earning the federal minimum or less accounted for 3.3 percent of the hourly paid workforce. (See table 1. The North Carolina minimum wage is equal to the prevailing federal minimum wage.)

In 2007, 46,000 hourly paid workers earned the prevailing federal minimum wage or less in North Carolina, the lowest level since data were first available in 2000. The 46,000 workers in this category accounted for 2.1 percent of all hourly paid workers in the state. (See chart 1.) In 2007, the federal minimum wage began increasing after holding steady for nearly a decade. Two additional increases in the federal minimum wage followed, resulting in more North Carolina workers falling into this category, peaking at 168,000 in 2010. That number has declined in four of the past five years.

From 2014 to 2015, the portion of hourly paid workers in North Carolina who earned at or below the federal minimum wage remained at 5.1 percent. The percentage of workers earning exactly the federal minimum wage fell from 3.1 percent to 2.3 percent, while the percentage earning less than the federal minimum increased from 2.0 percent to 2.8 percent in 2015.

Of the 122,000 workers earning the federal minimum wage or less in North Carolina in 2015, 83,000, or 68 percent, were women. (See table 2.) These women represented 6.9 percent of all women paid hourly rates in the state. Men accounted for 39,000, or 32 percent, of all North Carolina workers earning the prevailing minimum wage or less; they made up 3.3 percent of men who were paid hourly rates.

In 2015, North Carolina’s proportion of hourly paid workers earning at or below the federal minimum wage ranked fifth among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The states with the highest percentages of hourly paid workers earning at or below the federal minimum wage were in the South: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Virginia (all were about 6 percent). The states with the lowest percentages of hourly paid workers earning at or below the federal minimum wage were in the West: Alaska, California, Oregon, and Washington (all were about 1 percent). It should be noted that a number of states have established minimum wage rates that exceed the federal level. As of January 1, 2016, 29 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 were obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), which provides information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment. The survey is conducted monthly for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by the U.S. Census Bureau using a scientifically selected national sample of about 60,000 eligible households in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The survey also provides data on earnings, which are based on one-fourth of the CPS monthly sample and are limited to wage and salary workers. All self-employed workers, both incorporated and unincorporated, are excluded from these earnings estimates.

Statistics based on the CPS 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.

Some workers reported as earning at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage may not, in fact, be covered by federal or state minimum wage laws because of exclusions and exemptions in the statutes. The presence of workers with hourly earnings below the federal minimum wage does not necessarily indicate violations of the FLSA or state statutes in cases where such standards apply.

Estimates of the number of minimum wage workers in this release pertain only to workers who are paid hourly rates. Salaried workers and other workers who are not paid by the hour are excluded, even though some have earnings that, if converted to hourly rates, would be at or below the federal minimum wage. Consequently, the estimates presented in this release likely understate the actual number of workers with hourly earnings at or below the minimum wage.

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 for the main concepts presented in this report are below.

Wage and salary workers. Workers age 16 and older who receive wages, salaries, commissions, tips, payments in kind, or piece rates on their sole or principal job. This group includes employees in both the private and public sectors. All self-employed workers are excluded whether or not their businesses are incorporated.

Workers paid at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage pertain only to workers who are paid hourly rates. Salaried workers and other nonhourly paid workers are excluded.

Hourly earnings. Hourly earnings data are for wage and salary workers who are paid by the hour and refer to a person’s sole or principal job. Hourly earnings for hourly paid workers do not include overtime pay, commissions, or tips received.

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.

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. Wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage, by state, 2015 annual averages
StateNumber of workers (in thousands)Percent distributionPercentage 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 older

78,2322,5618701,691100.0100.0100.0100.03.31.12.2

Alabama

1,1826640261.52.64.61.65.63.42.2

Alaska

2093120.30.10.10.11.20.40.8

Arizona

1,627446382.11.70.72.22.70.42.3

Arkansas

7122210120.90.91.10.73.11.41.7

California

9,667115259012.44.52.95.31.20.30.9

Colorado

1,242223191.60.90.31.11.80.21.5

Connecticut

904273231.21.00.41.42.90.42.6

Delaware

2366240.30.20.20.32.60.71.9

District of Columbia

1123120.10.10.10.13.00.82.2

Florida

4,238160131475.46.21.58.73.80.33.5

Georgia

2,1739546492.83.75.32.94.42.12.3

Hawaii

35610550.50.40.60.32.81.51.3

Idaho

458211560.60.81.70.44.63.21.4

Illinois

3,15410115864.03.91.75.13.20.52.7

Indiana

1,7796932372.32.73.72.23.91.82.1

Iowa

9313517181.21.42.01.03.71.81.9

Kansas

7943316171.01.31.81.04.12.02.1

Kentucky

1,0903815231.41.51.71.43.51.42.1

Louisiana

1,0947038321.42.84.41.96.43.52.9

Maine

35910280.50.40.20.52.70.52.2

Maryland

1,418315251.81.20.61.52.20.41.8

Massachusetts

1,651489392.11.91.12.32.90.62.3

Michigan

2,70610113883.54.01.55.23.70.53.3

Minnesota

1,6032610162.01.01.20.91.60.61.0

Mississippi

7264527180.91.83.11.16.23.72.5

Missouri

1,5835713442.02.21.52.63.60.82.8

Montana

2946240.40.20.20.22.00.71.3

Nebraska

55813490.70.50.50.52.30.71.6

Nevada

794209101.00.81.10.62.51.21.3

New Hampshire

389165110.50.60.50.74.11.22.9

New Jersey

1,803508422.32.00.92.52.80.42.3

New Mexico

511163130.70.60.30.83.10.52.5

New York

4,0159724745.13.82.74.42.40.61.8

North Carolina

2,37412255663.04.86.43.95.12.32.8

North Dakota

2225240.30.20.20.22.30.71.6

Ohio

3,2199316774.13.61.84.62.90.52.4

Oklahoma

9672915151.21.11.70.93.01.51.5

Oregon

1,0157351.30.30.30.30.70.30.5

Pennsylvania

3,52415054964.55.96.25.74.31.52.7

Rhode Island

3125050.40.20.00.31.50.11.5

South Carolina

1,1915634221.52.24.01.34.72.91.8

South Dakota

2616150.30.20.10.32.40.42.1

Tennessee

1,6497735422.13.04.02.54.72.12.5

Texas

6,0702871111767.811.212.810.44.71.82.9

Utah

7762513121.01.01.50.73.31.71.5

Vermont

1753030.20.10.00.21.90.21.6

Virginia

1,91912050692.54.75.84.16.22.63.6

Washington

1,795197122.30.70.80.71.10.40.7

West Virginia

433155100.60.60.50.63.41.02.3

Wisconsin

1,7816130312.32.43.51.83.41.71.7

Wyoming

1796340.20.20.30.23.51.42.1

Note: Data exclude all self-employed workers, 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.

 

Table 2. Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage and median earnings of houly paid workers in North Carolina, by gender, annual averages, 2005–2015
North CarolinaNumber 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 wageTotal²At minimum wageBelow minimum wage

Men

 

2005

1,088155101.40.50.9$11.85

2006

1,115184141.60.41.311.60

2007

1,053161151.50.11.412.04

2008

1,094267192.40.61.712.40

2009

1,0224817314.71.73.012.11

2010

1,0186533326.43.23.112.25

2011

1,0185631255.53.02.512.86

2012

1,0884628184.22.61.712.88

2013

1,1075335184.83.21.612.88

2014

1,1243826123.42.31.112.86

2015

1,1693916233.31.42.012.95

Women

 

2005

1,088438354.00.73.29.99

2006

1,131348263.00.72.310.10

2007

1,103304262.70.42.410.20

2008

1,141513484.50.34.210.80

2009

1,1108922678.02.06.011.13

2010

1,10310340639.33.65.711.22

2011

1,0378535508.23.44.811.20

2012

1,1189146458.14.14.011.25

2013

1,1447738396.73.33.411.66

2014

1,1037441336.73.73.010.96

2015

1,2058340436.93.33.612.05

Note: Data excludes all self-employed persons, whether or not their businesses are incorporated. Data for 2007–2009 reflect changes in the minimum wage that took place in those years.
 

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, June 09, 2016