Failure to raise the federal minimum wage has taken thousands of dollars out of the pockets of minimum wage workers: The real value of the minimum wage (adjusted for inflation) is 17% less than 10 years ago and 31% less than in 1968
Note: All values are in June 2019 dollars, adjusted using the CPI-U-RS.
Source: Adapted from Figure C in David Cooper, Elise Gould, and Ben Zipperer, Low-Wage Workers Are Suffering from a Decline in the Real Value of the Federal Minimum Wage, Economic Policy Institute, August 2019).
Source: Adapted from Figure C in David Cooper, Elise Gould, and Ben Zipperer, Low-Wage Workers Are Suffering from a Decline in the Real Value of the Federal Minimum Wage, Economic Policy Institute, August 2019). The figure reflects EPI analysis of historical minimum wage data in the Fair Labor Standards Act and amendments.