Demographic characteristics of the low-wage workforce in Delaware
| Category | Estimated total wage-earning workforce1 | Share of total workforce | Estimated low-wage workers2 | Share of low-wage workers | Share of workforce category that is low wage | Margin of error |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 373,582 | 100.0% | 74,257 | 100.0% | 19.9% | +/- 1.3% |
| Gender | ||||||
| Female | 186,547 | 49.9% | 43,673 | 58.8% | 23.4% | +/- 1.9% |
| Male | 187,036 | 50.1% | 30,585 | 41.2% | 16.4% | +/- 1.7% |
| Age | ||||||
| 20 + | 359,503 | 96.2% | 63,230 | 85.2% | 17.6% | +/- 1.3% |
| Under 20 | 14,080 | 3.8% | 11,027 | 14.8% | 78.3% | +/- 7.3% |
| 16 to 24 | 54,218 | 14.5% | 31,628 | 42.6% | 58.3% | +/- 4.6% |
| 25 to 39 | 110,134 | 29.5% | 17,852 | 24.0% | 16.2% | +/- 2.3% |
| 40 to 54 | 127,336 | 34.1% | 13,931 | 18.8% | 10.9% | +/- 1.7% |
| 55+ | 81,895 | 21.9% | 10,846 | 14.6% | 13.2% | +/- 2.2% |
| Race/ethnicity | ||||||
| White | 250,580 | 67.1% | 40,363 | 54.4% | 16.1% | +/- 1.4% |
| Black | 75,157 | 20.1% | 19,285 | 26.0% | 25.7% | +/- 3.3% |
| Hispanic | 30,275 | 8.1% | 12,072 | 16.3% | 39.9% | +/- 6.1% |
| Asian | 17,570 | 4.7% | 2,537 | 3.4% | 14.4% | +/- 5.6% |
| Family status | ||||||
| Married parent | 92,134 | 24.7% | 9,314 | 12.5% | 10.1% | +/- 2.0% |
| Single parent | 33,474 | 9.0% | 10,133 | 13.6% | 30.3% | +/- 5.1% |
| Married, no kids | 104,696 | 28.0% | 11,127 | 15.0% | 10.6% | +/- 1.8% |
| Unmarried, no kids | 143,279 | 38.4% | 43,683 | 58.8% | 30.5% | +/- 2.5% |
| Family income | ||||||
| Less than $20,000 | 29,856 | 8.0% | 13,046 | 17.6% | 43.7% | +/- 5.8% |
| $20,000–$39,999 | 71,465 | 19.1% | 21,305 | 28.7% | 29.8% | +/- 3.5% |
| $40,000–$59,999 | 69,014 | 18.5% | 13,323 | 17.9% | 19.3% | +/- 3.0% |
| $60,000–$74,999 | 44,936 | 12.0% | 7,472 | 10.1% | 16.6% | +/- 3.5% |
| $75,000–$99,999 | 58,378 | 15.6% | 8,191 | 11.0% | 14.0% | +/- 2.8% |
| $100,000–$149,999 | 57,854 | 15.5% | 7,032 | 9.5% | 12.2% | +/- 2.7% |
| $150,000 or more | 42,079 | 11.3% | 3,887 | 5.2% | 9.2% | +/- 2.8% |
| Industry | ||||||
| Construction | 21,005 | 5.6% | 2,043 | 2.8% | 9.7% | +/- 4.1% |
| Manufacturing | 29,011 | 7.8% | 3,733 | 5.0% | 12.9% | +/- 3.9% |
| Retail | 41,550 | 11.1% | 18,501 | 24.9% | 44.5% | +/- 4.9% |
| Wholesale | 7,381 | 2.0% | 1,356 | 1.8% | 18.4% | +/- 9.0% |
| Transportation and utilities | 17,524 | 4.7% | 1,477 | 2.0% | 8.4% | +/- 4.2% |
| Financial activities | 38,079 | 10.2% | 1,828 | 2.5% | 4.8% | +/- 2.2% |
| Professional and business services | 33,909 | 9.1% | 6,253 | 8.4% | 18.4% | +/- 4.2% |
| Education and health care | 93,832 | 25.1% | 13,487 | 18.2% | 14.4% | +/- 2.3% |
| Leisure and hospitality | 39,061 | 10.5% | 18,298 | 24.6% | 46.8% | +/- 5.2% |
| Other industry | 52,230 | 14.0% | 7,283 | 9.8% | 13.9% | +/- 3.0% |
| Occupation | ||||||
| Professional, business, science | 87,244 | 23.4% | 4,131 | 5.6% | 4.7% | +/- 1.4% |
| Service | 72,674 | 19.5% | 30,386 | 40.9% | 41.8% | +/- 3.7% |
| Sales | 34,530 | 9.2% | 13,685 | 18.4% | 39.6% | +/- 5.3% |
| Office, administrative support | 57,301 | 15.3% | 11,019 | 14.8% | 19.2% | +/- 3.2% |
| Transportation | 19,585 | 5.2% | 4,112 | 5.5% | 21.0% | +/- 5.9% |
| Other occupation | 102,249 | 27.4% | 10,923 | 14.7% | 10.7% | +/- 1.9% |
| Work status | ||||||
| Part time (< 20 hours) | 20,271 | 5.4% | 10,601 | 14.3% | 52.3% | +/- 7.0% |
| Mid time (20–34 hours) | 46,789 | 12.5% | 24,731 | 33.3% | 52.9% | +/- 4.7% |
| Full time (35+ hours) | 306,521 | 82.0% | 38,925 | 52.4% | 12.7% | +/- 1.2% |
| Education | ||||||
| Less than high school | 27,038 | 7.2% | 15,359 | 20.7% | 56.8% | +/- 6.1% |
| High school | 115,549 | 30.9% | 27,876 | 37.5% | 24.1% | +/- 2.5% |
| Some college | 105,093 | 28.1% | 23,759 | 32.0% | 22.6% | +/- 2.6% |
| Bachelor’s degree or higher | 125,903 | 33.7% | 7,264 | 9.8% | 5.8% | +/- 1.3% |
| Sector | ||||||
| For-profit | 284,623 | 76.2% | 65,787 | 88.6% | 23.1% | +/- 1.6% |
| Government | 62,709 | 16.8% | 3,997 | 5.4% | 6.4% | +/- 1.9% |
| Non-profit | 26,250 | 7.0% | 4,473 | 6.0% | 17.0% | +/- 4.6% |
| Children with a low-wage working parent | 211,635 | 32,969 | 15.6% | +/- 1.6% | ||
Notes: 1Total estimated workers is estimated from the CPS respondents who were 16 years old or older, employed, but not self-employed and for whom either a valid hourly wage is reported or one can be imputed from weekly earnings and average weekly hours. Consequently, this estimate represents the identifyable wage-earning workforce and tends to understate the size of the full workforce. 2Low-wage workers are defined as workers reporting wages at or below the 20th percentile wage in Delaware in 2013, approximately $10.06 per hour.
Source: EPI analysis of 2013 Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
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