Federal minimum-wage benchmarks, 1968, 2014, and 2020
| Federal minimum wage | Federal minimum wage in 2020, under: | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In 1968 | In 2014 | Harkin–Miller $10.10 proposal | $12.00 proposal | |
| Nominal value | $1.60 | $7.25 | $11.09 | $12.00 |
| Standard-of-living benchmarks | ||||
| Real value (2014$) (CPI-U-RS) | $9.54 | $7.25 | $9.78 | $10.58 |
| Percent of 1968 value (based on CPI-U-RS) | 100.0% | 76.0% | 102.5% | 110.9% |
| As percent of net productivity (average output per hour worked) in total economy | 33.7% | 13.3% | 16.2% | 17.5% |
| Wage distribution benchmarks | ||||
| As a percent of national median wage | 52.1% | 37.1% | 50.0% | 54.1% |
| As a percent of the average hourly earnings of nonsupervisory production workers | 53.0% | 35.2% | 47.5% | 51.4% |
| Percent of workers at or below the federal minimum wage | n.a. | 4% | 18% | 23% |
Note: See data appendix for methodology.
Source: Authors’ analysis of Fair Labor Standards Act and amendments, Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, Raise the Wage Act of 2015, Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey microdata, unpublished Total Economy Productivity data from Bureau of Labor Statistics Labor Productivity and Costs program, and projections from CBO (2015)