No Change in US Federal Minimum Wage for More than 10 Years

As the last graph on inflation showed, not a year had no inflation. In addition, inflation hiked from 2021. However, the federal minimum wage doesn't change! The Federal minimum wage was last changed in 2008, when it was raised $0.70 from $6.55 to $7.25, and that rate hasn't changed. A full time minimum wage worker working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, will earn $58.00 per day, $290.00 per week, and $15,080.00 per year1. The national poverty line for a family unit consisting of two people is $16,020.00 per year.

In addition to any Federal-specific minimum wage exemptions described above, the Federal Fair Labor Standards act defines special minimum wage rates applicable to certain types of workers. You may be paid under the Federal minimum wage if you fit into one of the following categories:

• Federal Under 20 Minimum Wage - $4.25 - Federal law allows any employer to pay a new employee who is under 20 years of age a training wage of $4.25 per hour for the first 90 days of employment.

• Federal Student Minimum Wage - $6.16 - Full-time high school or college students who work part-time may be paid 85% of the Federal minimum wage (as little as $6.16 per hour) for up to 20 hours of work per week at certain employers (such as work-study programs at universities).

This simply says people living with minimum wage get poorer yearly, although they work the same number of hours.