Most workers who would directly benefit from raising the minimum wage are people of color: Workers directly affected by minimum wage increase from $7.25 to $10.10 by July 2017 in Birmingham’s Jefferson County, Alabama, by demographic
| Category | Estimated workforce | Category’s share of workforce | Directly affected workers | Share of category directly affected | Category’s share of directly affected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 340,000 | 100.0% | 65,000 | 19.1% | 100.0% |
| Race/ethnicity | |||||
| White | 211,000 | 62.1% | 30,000 | 14.2% | 46.2% |
| Black | 107,000 | 31.5% | 28,000 | 26.2% | 43.1% |
| Latinx, AAPI, or other | 22,000 | 6.5% | 6,000 | 27.3% | 9.2% |
| Gender | |||||
| Women | 170,000 | 50.0% | 35,000 | 20.6% | 53.8% |
| Men | 171,000 | 50.3% | 29,000 | 17.0% | 44.6% |
Notes: Numbers shown in table may not sum due to rounding. To update these estimates of affected workers from 2014 to 2017, we assume annual working-age population growth of 1.09% based on 2012–2022 annualized labor force growth rate projections for Workforce Development Region 4 from the Alabama Department of Labor and annual nominal wage growth of 1.44% from 2014–2017 (Alabama average annual wage growth of bottom 20% of wage earners from 2013–2015, according to EPI analysis of CPS-ORG microdata).
Numbers shown in table may not sum due to rounding. To update these estimates of affected workers from 2014 to 2017, we assume annual working age population growth of 1.09% based on 2012–2022 annualized labor force growth rate projections for Workforce Development Region 4 from the Alabama Department of Labor and annual nominal wage growth of 1.44% from 2014–2017 (Alabama average annual wage growth of bottom 20% of wage earners from 2013–2015, according to EPI analysis of CPS-ORG microdata). Total estimated workers is estimated from the ACS respondents who were 16 or older, employed, but not self-employed, and for whom a valid hourly wage can be imputed from annual wage earning, usual hours worked per week, and weeks worked in the previous year. All government workers are excluded except those that work for “local government,” who are presumed to work for the City of Birmingham and therefore subject to the minimum wage proposal. Directly affected workers will see their wages rise as the new minimum wage rate will exceed their current hourly pay.
Source: Economic Policy Institute analysis of American Community Survey microdata, 2014.