WEB FEATURES RELATED PUBLICATIONS Last updated April 2007 A minimum wage increase would raise the wages of millions of workers. An estimated 13.0 million workers (10% of the workforce) would receive an increase in their hourly wage rate if the minimum wage were raised from $5.15 to $7.25 by 2009. Of these workers, 5.6 million workers (4% of the workforce) currently earn less than $7.25 and would be directly affected by an increase. The additional 7.4 million workers (6% of the workforce) earning slightly above the minimum would also be likely to benefit from an increase due to spillover effects. Minimum wage increases benefit working families. The earnings of minimum wage workers are crucial to their families' well-being. Evidence from an analysis of the 1996-97 minimum wage increase shows that the average minimum wage worker brings home more than half (54%) of his or her family's weekly earnings. An estimated 1,229,000 single parents with children under 18 would benefit from a minimum wage increase to $7.25 by 2009. Single parents would benefit disproportionately from an increase — single parents are 10% of workers affected by an increase, but they make up only 7% of the overall workforce. Approximately 6.4 million children under 18 would benefit as their parents wages were increased. Adults make up the largest share of workers who would benefit from a minimum wage increase: 79% of workers whos...
