Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Analysis Study Now Available

Harrisburg, PA (CompNewsNetwork) - The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry  announced the Minimum Wage Advisory Board’s report, "Analysis of the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Increases in 2007,” is now available online at www.dli.state.pa.us.
 
The report, which was required under the Minimum Wage Act, highlights statistical information on Pennsylvanians who earn at or below the minimum wage; analyzes the demographic characteristics of those hourly workers; details the industry characteristics of their employers; and discusses the minimum wage data.

Some findings of the study include:
During the time period covering the minimum wage increases, Pennsylvania’s job count reached an all-time high, and the state’s unemployment rate remained lower than the nation’s.

The two minimum wage increases in 2007 directly affected 132,800 Pennsylvania workers (the difference between those earning below $7.15 in 2006 and 2007), or nearly 4 percent of those who make hourly wages and over 2 percent of total employment.

Inflation negatively affects the minimum wage. Adjusting for inflation, the minimum wage increase to $7.15 will be worth $7.00 in 2008, $6.80 in 2009, and $6.60 in 2010.

The average minimum wage worker tends to be white, female, 16-24 years old, never married, high school graduates or those who did not complete high school.

The leisure, hospitality and retail trades are most likely to employ workers at or below the minimum wage. These industries employed about 66 percent of all minimum wage earners in 2007.

Seventy percent of the hourly workers earning at or below the minimum wage worked part-time in 2007.

Under amendments to the Minimum Wage Act passed in 2006, most Pennsylvania employers were required to provide workers with two increases in the minimum wage on Jan. 1, 2007, to $6.25 an hour; and July 1, 2007, to $7.15 an hour. The next scheduled increase, which is federally mandated, will occur July 24, 2009, when it will be $7.25 an hour.
 
The Minimum Wage Advisory Board is comprised of nine members – three representatives from recognized employer associations, three representatives from recognized labor organizations, and three members of the general public. The secretary of the Department of Labor & Industry is the board’s chairperson.

The report and more information on Pennsylvania’s Minimum Wage Act, is online at: www.dli.state.pa.us

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