Chart: Annual minimum-wage earnings and poverty level for families of two or three, 1964–2012 (2012 dollars)

Figure A

Annual minimum-wage earnings and poverty level for families of two or three, 1964–2012 (2012 dollars)

Note: Poverty thresholds are 2012 levels for families of two (one adult, one child) and three (two adults, one child). Note that the poverty threshold for a family of one adult, two children is slightly higher ($18,498). Annual earnings are calculated assuming workers work full time (40 hours per week) and 52 weeks per year (i.e., with no vacation). Minimum wage is deflated using CPI-U-RS.

Source: Authors’ analysis of U.S. Census Bureau (2012) and U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (2012)

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Raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 would give working families, and the overall economy, a much-needed boost

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