The crisis of low wages in the US
Oxfam: Almost one-third of US workers make less than $15 an hour
The crisis of low wages in the US
New research reveals that nearly a third of all workers in the US earn under $15 an hour. But women and people of color do much more than their fair share of low-wage jobs, and as wages lose value, it's becoming a civil rights crisis in this country.
Nearly a third of the workforce (31.9 percent) is earning less than $15 an hour: roughly 52 million workers and their families are struggling to get by on wages of declining value.
Please visit the interactive map on low wages by state.
The impact on historically marginalized workers is significant.
Racial and ethnic disparities are similarly striking: 26 percent of white workers make less than $15 an hour, compared to 46 percent of Hispanic workers and 47 percent of Black workers.
More than half of all working women of color make less than $15 an hour, according to the report.
Geographic differences are largely determined by state-level labor laws, as places that have enacted high minimum wage laws consistently have the lowest proportion of workers earning below-$15 wages.
Washington, D.C., the only jurisdiction whose minimum wage currently tops $15 an hour, leads in all categories, with only 9 percent of its workforce earning under $15, including 13 percent of Black workers and 15 percent of Hispanic workers.
While only 12 percent of women in the District of Columbia make less than $15 an hour, 17 percent of working women of color earn salaries below that benchmark.
Washington state and California round out the top three in all categories; Washington's minimum wage is currently $13.69 per hour, and California's is $13, according to the Department of Labor.
The jurisdiction with the highest number of low-earning workers is Puerto Rico, where 76 percent of all workers make less than $15 an hour.
A majority of Puerto Rican workers are Hispanic, although those who identify as white are less likely to earn below-$15 wages; nearly 67 percent of white Puerto Ricans still make less than $15 an hour.
While the Caribbean territory does not have large disparities in sub-$15 wages for Hispanics and women, a whopping 92 percent of Black Puerto Ricans and 89 percent of Indigenous Puerto Ricans earn less than $15 an hour.
Puerto Rico is joined at the bottom of the list by two of the poorest states in the union, Mississippi, where 45 percent of all workers make less than $15 an hour, and New Mexico, where 44 percent of workers fail to meet that benchmark.
Mississippi, which has no statewide minimum wage and adheres to the federal $7.25 per hour rate, also comes in second-to-last in nearly all categories of wage inequality measured by Oxfam.
While all Mississippians are more likely to make under $15, 55 percent of women in the state's workforce earn less, as do 63 percent of Black workers in the state, and 70 percent of working women of color.
Oxfam: Almost one-third of US workers make less than $15 an hour
The crisis of low wages in the US
New research reveals that nearly a third of all workers in the US earn under $15 an hour. But women and people of color do much more than their fair share of low-wage jobs, and as wages lose value, it's becoming a civil rights crisis in this country.
Nearly a third of the workforce (31.9 percent) is earning less than $15 an hour: roughly 52 million workers and their families are struggling to get by on wages of declining value.
Please visit the interactive map on low wages by state.
The impact on historically marginalized workers is significant.
- Gender: While 25 percent of men earn less than $15, 40 percent of women do (31 million people).
- Race: While 26 percent of white workers earn less than $15, 46 percent of Hispanic/Latinx workers do, and 47 percent of Black workers do.
- Race and gender: Women of color (includes women who do not self identify as white) are disproportionately represented in the low-wage workforce. While 25 percent of men earn less than $15, and 40 percent of women do, HALF of working women of color earn less than $15. In 25 states, at least 60 percent of working women of color earn under $15.
- Age: The vast majority of the workers earning less than $15 are NOT teenagers: 89 percent are age 20 or older.
- Parents: Millions of low-wage workers are parents, struggling to raise children on low wages. Among working single parents, 57 percent (11.2 million people) earn less than $15.
Racial and ethnic disparities are similarly striking: 26 percent of white workers make less than $15 an hour, compared to 46 percent of Hispanic workers and 47 percent of Black workers.
More than half of all working women of color make less than $15 an hour, according to the report.
Geographic differences are largely determined by state-level labor laws, as places that have enacted high minimum wage laws consistently have the lowest proportion of workers earning below-$15 wages.
Washington, D.C., the only jurisdiction whose minimum wage currently tops $15 an hour, leads in all categories, with only 9 percent of its workforce earning under $15, including 13 percent of Black workers and 15 percent of Hispanic workers.
While only 12 percent of women in the District of Columbia make less than $15 an hour, 17 percent of working women of color earn salaries below that benchmark.
Washington state and California round out the top three in all categories; Washington's minimum wage is currently $13.69 per hour, and California's is $13, according to the Department of Labor.
The jurisdiction with the highest number of low-earning workers is Puerto Rico, where 76 percent of all workers make less than $15 an hour.
A majority of Puerto Rican workers are Hispanic, although those who identify as white are less likely to earn below-$15 wages; nearly 67 percent of white Puerto Ricans still make less than $15 an hour.
While the Caribbean territory does not have large disparities in sub-$15 wages for Hispanics and women, a whopping 92 percent of Black Puerto Ricans and 89 percent of Indigenous Puerto Ricans earn less than $15 an hour.
Puerto Rico is joined at the bottom of the list by two of the poorest states in the union, Mississippi, where 45 percent of all workers make less than $15 an hour, and New Mexico, where 44 percent of workers fail to meet that benchmark.
Mississippi, which has no statewide minimum wage and adheres to the federal $7.25 per hour rate, also comes in second-to-last in nearly all categories of wage inequality measured by Oxfam.
While all Mississippians are more likely to make under $15, 55 percent of women in the state's workforce earn less, as do 63 percent of Black workers in the state, and 70 percent of working women of color.
