Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers: 2013

Abstract

[Excerpt] This report presents highlights and statistical tables of minimum wage workers in 2013. The data are obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), a national monthly survey of approximately 60,000 households conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Information on earnings is collected from one-fourth of the CPS sample each month. The CPS does not include questions on whether workers are covered by the minimum wage provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) or by individual state or local minimum wage laws. The estimates of workers paid at or below the federal minimum wage are based solely on the hourly wage they report (which does not include overtime pay, tips, or commissions). For more information on concepts and definitions of minimum wage data, see the technical notes section at the end of this report.