Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

News Release Information

14-754-SAN
Friday, May 02, 2014

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

Minimum Wage Workers in Idaho – 2013

Of the 411,000 workers paid hourly rates in Idaho in 2013, 21,000 earned exactly the prevailing federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, while 8,000 earned less, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden noted that the 29,000 workers earning the federal minimum wage or less made up 7.1 percent of all hourly-paid workers in the state. Nationwide, those earning the federal minimum or less accounted for 4.3 percent of the hourly-paid workforce. (The Idaho minimum wage is equal to the prevailing Federal minimum wage.)

In 2003, 11,000 hourly-paid workers earned the prevailing federal minimum wage or less in Idaho, the lowest level since data were first available in 2000. The 11,000 workers in this category accounted for 3.0 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 Idaho workers falling into this category, peaking at 31,000  in 2012.

From 2012 to 2013, the portion of hourly-paid workers in Idaho who earned at or below the federal minimum wage decreased from 7.7 to 7.1 percent. The percentage of workers earning less than the federal minimum fell 1.8 percentage points in 2013 to 1.9 percent, while the share earning exactly the minimum wage rose 1.1 percentage points to 5.1 percent.

Of the 29,000 workers earning the federal minimum wage or less in Idaho in 2013, 17,000, or 59 percent, were women. These women represented 8.3 percent of all women paid hourly rates in the state. There were 12,000 men earning the minimum wage or less in Idaho, accounting for 5.9 percent of all men paid hourly rates in the state. (See table A.)

 

Table A. Employed wage and salary workers(1) paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage in the State of Idaho, by sex, annual averages

Idaho

Number 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

36811293.00.52.410.08

2004

38312393.10.82.310.09

2005

41512482.91.01.910.45

2006

42513583.11.21.911.57

2007

42412482.80.91.911.78

2008

412154113.61.02.711.93

2009

388249156.22.33.911.87

2010

3963015157.63.83.812.19

2011

379191275.03.21.811.93

2012

4043116157.74.03.712.47

2013

411292187.15.11.912.30
Total, men

2003

1804132.20.61.711.03

2004

1853121.60.51.110.94

2005

2004222.01.01.011.83

2006

2124221.90.90.912.29

2007

2223121.40.50.912.88

2008

2074131.90.51.413.78

2009

18912576.32.63.712.83

2010

19311565.72.63.113.73

2011

1847523.82.71.112.42

2012

20814686.72.93.813.31

2013

205121025.94.91.013.13
Total, women

2003

1887163.70.53.29.42

2004

1989274.51.03.59.78

2005

2159364.21.42.89.80

2006

2129364.21.42.810.37

2007

2029364.51.53.010.40

2008

20511385.41.53.910.25

2009

19813496.62.04.511.16

2010

203191099.44.94.411.00

2011

19512756.23.62.611.34

2012

196171078.75.13.611.88

2013

205171168.35.42.911.83

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

In 2013, Idaho’s proportion of hourly-paid workers earning at or below the federal minimum wage ranked second among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Tennessee had the highest percentage of hourly paid workers earning at or below the federal minimum wage at 7.4 percent. Alabama and Arkansas tied for third highest, each at 6.8 percent. The states with the lowest percentage of hourly workers earning the 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.)

Overall, wage and salary workers earning hourly rates in the state had median hourly earnings of $12.30 in 2013; nationally, the median was $12.93. The median hourly rates for men and women in Idaho in 2013 were $13.13 and $11.83, respectively. (See table A.) For the nation, the comparable figures were $14.00 per hour for men and $12.12 per hour for women.


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 workers with reported wages below the federal minimum wage does not necessarily indicate violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, as there are exemptions to the minimum wage provisions of the law. Estimates of the numbers of minimum and subminimum wage workers presented in this release pertain to workers paid at hourly rates; salaried and other non-hourly workers are excluded. Consequently, the actual number of workers with earnings at or below the prevailing minimum is likely 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: 1-800-877-8339.

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
rates
At or below minimum wageTotal
paid
hourly
rates
At or below minimum wageAt or below minimum wage
TotalAt
minimum
wage
Below
minimum
wage
TotalAt
minimum
wage
Below
minimum
wage
TotalAt
minimum
wage
Below
minimum
wage

Total, 16 years & 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: Friday, May 02, 2014