Share of workers earning poverty-level wages, by gender, 1973–2013
| Year | All | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 29.9% | 17.4% | 48.0% |
| 1974 | 29.7% | 16.8% | 48.3% |
| 1975 | 28.4% | 16.6% | 45.1% |
| 1976 | 30.0% | 18.1% | 46.3% |
| 1977 | 30.4% | 18.4% | 46.4% |
| 1978 | 27.0% | 15.6% | 42.1% |
| 1979 | 27.1% | 15.7% | 42.1% |
| 1980 | 29.3% | 17.7% | 43.9% |
| 1981 | 29.6% | 18.5% | 43.4% |
| 1982 | 28.5% | 18.4% | 40.6% |
| 1983 | 32.5% | 22.8% | 44.1% |
| 1984 | 31.5% | 22.1% | 42.8% |
| 1985 | 31.3% | 22.1% | 42.0% |
| 1986 | 29.6% | 21.2% | 39.5% |
| 1987 | 28.8% | 20.7% | 38.2% |
| 1988 | 30.4% | 22.4% | 39.5% |
| 1989 | 30.5% | 22.7% | 39.2% |
| 1990 | 30.0% | 22.5% | 38.4% |
| 1991 | 29.2% | 22.4% | 36.8% |
| 1992 | 31.2% | 24.9% | 38.1% |
| 1993 | 30.3% | 24.3% | 36.8% |
| 1994 | 30.9% | 24.8% | 37.6% |
| 1995 | 31.5% | 25.0% | 38.7% |
| 1996 | 30.3% | 24.2% | 37.0% |
| 1997 | 28.7% | 22.6% | 35.4% |
| 1998 | 27.4% | 21.4% | 33.9% |
| 1999 | 26.8% | 20.7% | 33.4% |
| 2000 | 25.1% | 19.6% | 31.1% |
| 2001 | 23.9% | 18.8% | 29.6% |
| 2002 | 23.1% | 18.4% | 28.2% |
| 2003 | 24.3% | 19.6% | 29.4% |
| 2004 | 24.2% | 19.7% | 29.2% |
| 2005 | 24.3% | 19.8% | 29.3% |
| 2006 | 23.3% | 18.7% | 28.3% |
| 2007 | 26.4% | 21.8% | 31.4% |
| 2008 | 26.0% | 21.5% | 30.8% |
| 2009 | 25.5% | 21.2% | 30.0% |
| 2010 | 26.0% | 22.0% | 30.2% |
| 2011 | 28.0% | 24.3% | 32.0% |
| 2012 | 28.1% | 23.7% | 32.8% |
| 2013 | 27.5% | 23.7% | 31.5% |
Note: The poverty-level wage is calculated using an estimate of the four-person weighted average poverty threshold in 2013 of $23,834 (based on the 2010 threshold updated for inflation, from the U.S. Census Bureau). This is divided by 2,080 hours to obtain a poverty-level hourly wage of $11.46 in 2013. The poverty-level wage is roughly equal to two-thirds of the median hourly wage. This figure is deflated by the CPI-U-RS (Consumer Price Index Research Series Using Current Methods) to obtain the poverty-level wage levels for other years.
Source: Economic Policy Institute analysis of U.S. Census Bureau and Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata
UPDATED FROM: Figure 4E in The State of Working America, 12th Edition, an Economic Policy Institute book published by Cornell University Press in 2012.
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