Characteristics of black U.S. workers who would be affected by increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by July 2024
| Group | Total estimated workforce | Directly affected | Share directly affected | Indirectly affected | Share indirectly affected | Total affected | Share of group who are affected | Group’s share of total affected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black workers | 17,281,000 | 4,423,000 | 25.6% | 2,510,000 | 14.5% | 6,933,000 | 40.1% | 100.0% |
| Gender | ||||||||
| Female | 9,315,000 | 2,643,000 | 28.4% | 1,370,000 | 14.7% | 4,013,000 | 43.1% | 57.9% |
| Male | 7,966,000 | 1,780,000 | 22.4% | 1,140,000 | 14.3% | 2,920,000 | 36.7% | 42.1% |
| Age | ||||||||
| 20 + | 16,749,000 | 4,037,000 | 24.1% | 2,435,000 | 14.5% | 6,471,000 | 38.6% | 93.3% |
| Under 20 | 533,000 | 387,000 | 72.6% | 75,000 | 14.1% | 462,000 | 86.7% | 6.7% |
| 16 to 24 | 2,447,000 | 1,381,000 | 56.5% | 457,000 | 18.7% | 1,838,000 | 75.1% | 26.5% |
| 25 to 39 | 6,241,000 | 1,483,000 | 23.8% | 1,044,000 | 16.7% | 2,527,000 | 40.5% | 36.4% |
| 40 to 54 | 5,509,000 | 949,000 | 17.2% | 647,000 | 11.7% | 1,595,000 | 29.0% | 23.0% |
| 55+ | 3,085,000 | 610,000 | 19.8% | 363,000 | 11.8% | 973,000 | 31.5% | 14.0% |
| Family status | ||||||||
| Married parent | 3,031,000 | 449,000 | 14.8% | 343,000 | 11.3% | 791,000 | 26.1% | 11.4% |
| Single parent | 2,640,000 | 851,000 | 32.3% | 474,000 | 18.0% | 1,326,000 | 50.2% | 19.1% |
| Married, no children | 3,232,000 | 526,000 | 16.3% | 423,000 | 13.1% | 949,000 | 29.4% | 13.7% |
| Unmarried, no children | 8,378,000 | 2,597,000 | 31.0% | 1,270,000 | 15.2% | 3,867,000 | 46.2% | 55.8% |
| Family income | ||||||||
| Less than $10,000 | 1,051,000 | 525,000 | 50.0% | 172,000 | 16.4% | 697,000 | 66.3% | 10.1% |
| $10,000 – $14,999 | 813,000 | 426,000 | 52.4% | 121,000 | 14.9% | 547,000 | 67.3% | 7.9% |
| $15,000 – $24,999 | 1,788,000 | 774,000 | 43.3% | 348,000 | 19.5% | 1,122,000 | 62.7% | 16.2% |
| $25,000 – $34,999 | 2,383,000 | 709,000 | 29.7% | 516,000 | 21.7% | 1,225,000 | 51.4% | 17.7% |
| $35,000 – $49,999 | 2,828,000 | 696,000 | 24.6% | 444,000 | 15.7% | 1,139,000 | 40.3% | 16.4% |
| $50,000 – $74,999 | 3,443,000 | 651,000 | 18.9% | 462,000 | 13.4% | 1,113,000 | 32.3% | 16.1% |
| $75,000 – $99,999 | 2,035,000 | 307,000 | 15.1% | 222,000 | 10.9% | 529,000 | 26.0% | 7.6% |
| $100,000 – $149,999 | 1,739,000 | 207,000 | 11.9% | 142,000 | 8.2% | 349,000 | 20.1% | 5.0% |
| $150,000 or more | 1,201,000 | 129,000 | 10.7% | 82,000 | 6.9% | 211,000 | 17.6% | 3.0% |
| Industry | ||||||||
| Construction | 463,000 | 74,000 | 16.0% | 39,000 | 8.3% | 113,000 | 24.3% | 1.6% |
| Manufacturing | 1,563,000 | 366,000 | 23.5% | 265,000 | 17.0% | 631,000 | 40.4% | 9.1% |
| Retail trade | 1,965,000 | 824,000 | 41.9% | 301,000 | 15.3% | 1,125,000 | 57.2% | 16.2% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 49,000 | 26,000 | 53.4% | 12,000 | 25.5% | 38,000 | 78.9% | 0.6% |
| Wholesale trade | 286,000 | 64,000 | 22.5% | 30,000 | 10.3% | 94,000 | 32.9% | 1.4% |
| Transportation and utilities | 1,374,000 | 226,000 | 16.5% | 161,000 | 11.7% | 387,000 | 28.2% | 5.6% |
| Information | 310,000 | 40,000 | 12.8% | 30,000 | 9.8% | 70,000 | 22.6% | 1.0% |
| Financial activities | 1,009,000 | 110,000 | 10.9% | 107,000 | 10.6% | 217,000 | 21.5% | 3.1% |
| Administrative and waste management services | 950,000 | 358,000 | 37.7% | 159,000 | 16.8% | 517,000 | 54.4% | 7.5% |
| Professional, science, management consulting | 652,000 | 40,000 | 6.2% | 29,000 | 4.4% | 69,000 | 10.6% | 1.0% |
| Education | 1,595,000 | 303,000 | 19.0% | 150,000 | 9.4% | 453,000 | 28.4% | 6.5% |
| Health care | 2,897,000 | 728,000 | 25.1% | 442,000 | 15.3% | 1,170,000 | 40.4% | 16.9% |
| Social assistance | 566,000 | 157,000 | 27.8% | 79,000 | 13.9% | 236,000 | 41.7% | 3.4% |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation | 489,000 | 185,000 | 37.8% | 85,000 | 17.4% | 270,000 | 55.2% | 3.9% |
| Food and drink service | 1,260,000 | 634,000 | 50.3% | 347,000 | 27.6% | 981,000 | 77.9% | 14.2% |
| Public administration | 1,177,000 | 120,000 | 10.2% | 113,000 | 9.6% | 233,000 | 19.8% | 3.4% |
| Mining | 47,000 | 3,000 | 6.6% | 3,000 | 6.1% | 6,000 | 12.7% | 0.1% |
| Other industries | 632,000 | 164,000 | 25.9% | 159,000 | 25.1% | 322,000 | 51.0% | 4.7% |
| Occupation | ||||||||
| Management | 1,854,000 | 110,000 | 5.9% | 98,000 | 5.3% | 208,000 | 11.2% | 3.0% |
| Professional | 3,341,000 | 348,000 | 10.4% | 224,000 | 6.7% | 572,000 | 17.1% | 8.2% |
| Service | 4,306,000 | 1,727,000 | 40.1% | 1,059,000 | 24.6% | 2,786,000 | 64.7% | 40.2% |
| Sales | 1,661,000 | 750,000 | 45.2% | 198,000 | 11.9% | 948,000 | 57.1% | 13.7% |
| Office and admin. support | 2,497,000 | 546,000 | 21.9% | 365,000 | 14.6% | 911,000 | 36.5% | 13.1% |
| Farming, forestry, and fisheries | 46,000 | 30,000 | 64.9% | 12,000 | 25.3% | 42,000 | 90.3% | 0.6% |
| Construction and extraction | 434,000 | 80,000 | 18.5% | 43,000 | 9.9% | 123,000 | 28.3% | 1.8% |
| Installation, maintenance, and repair | 392,000 | 52,000 | 13.3% | 25,000 | 6.4% | 77,000 | 19.7% | 1.1% |
| Transportation | 1,648,000 | 438,000 | 26.6% | 260,000 | 15.8% | 698,000 | 42.4% | 10.1% |
| Other occupations | 1,102,000 | 342,000 | 31.1% | 226,000 | 20.5% | 568,000 | 51.6% | 8.2% |
| Work hours | ||||||||
| Part time (< 20 hours) | 713,000 | 419,000 | 58.8% | 89,000 | 12.5% | 508,000 | 71.3% | 7.3% |
| Mid time (20–34 hours) | 2,518,000 | 1,331,000 | 52.9% | 443,000 | 17.6% | 1,774,000 | 70.5% | 25.6% |
| Full time (35+ hours) | 14,051,000 | 2,673,000 | 19.0% | 1,978,000 | 14.1% | 4,651,000 | 33.1% | 67.1% |
| Education | ||||||||
| Less than high school | 1,252,000 | 706,000 | 56.4% | 214,000 | 17.1% | 920,000 | 73.5% | 13.3% |
| High school | 5,473,000 | 1,840,000 | 33.6% | 1,032,000 | 18.8% | 2,872,000 | 52.5% | 41.4% |
| Some college, no degree | 4,024,000 | 1,170,000 | 29.1% | 680,000 | 16.9% | 1,850,000 | 46.0% | 26.7% |
| Associate degree | 1,870,000 | 383,000 | 20.5% | 297,000 | 15.9% | 680,000 | 36.4% | 9.8% |
| Bachelor’s degree or higher | 4,662,000 | 323,000 | 6.9% | 288,000 | 6.2% | 611,000 | 13.1% | 8.8% |
| Sector | ||||||||
| For profit | 12,859,000 | 3,705,000 | 28.8% | 2,031,000 | 15.8% | 5,736,000 | 44.6% | 82.7% |
| Government | 3,192,000 | 466,000 | 14.6% | 327,000 | 10.3% | 793,000 | 24.9% | 11.4% |
| Nonprofit | 1,231,000 | 252,000 | 20.5% | 151,000 | 12.3% | 403,000 | 32.8% | 5.8% |
Notes: Values reflect the result of the proposed change in the federal minimum wage. Wage changes resulting from scheduled state minimum wage laws are accounted for in the simulation. Totals may not sum due to rounding. Shares calculated from unrounded values. The total workforce is estimated from the CPS respondents who were black (non-Hispanic), 16 years old or older, employed, but not self-employed, and for whom a valid hourly wage is either reported or can be determined from weekly earnings and usual weekly hours. Directly affected workers will see their wages rise as the new minimum wage rate will exceed their current hourly pay. Indirectly affected workers have a wage rate just above the new minimum wage (between the new minimum wage and 115 percent of the new minimum). They will receive a raise as employer pay scales are adjusted upward to reflect the new minimum wage. Wage increase totals are cumulative of all preceding steps.
Source: EPI analysis of Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata, 2016; dollar values adjusted by projections for CPI-U in CBO (2017)
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