U.S. minimum wage 2024, by state

The federally mandated minimum wage in the United States is 7.25 U.S. dollars per hour, although the minimum wage varies from state to state. As of January 1, 2024, the District of Columbia had the highest minimum wage in the U.S., at 17 U.S. dollars per hour. This was followed by Washington, which had 16.28 U.S. dollars per hour as the state minimum wage.Minimum wage workers Minimum wage jobs are traditionally seen as “starter jobs” in the U.S., or first jobs for teenagers and young adults, and the number of people working minimum wage jobs has decreased from almost four million in 1979 to about 247,000 in 2020. However, the number of workers earning less than minimum wage in 2020 was significantly higher, at about 865,000. Minimum wage jobs Minimum wage jobs are primarily found in food preparation and serving occupations, as well as sales jobs (primarily in retail). Because the minimum wage has not kept up with inflation, nor has it been increased since 2009, it is becoming harder and harder live off of a minimum wage wage job, and for those workers to afford essential things like rent.

美国联邦规定的最低工资为每小时7.25美元，但各州的最低工资标准有所不同。截至2024年1月1日，哥伦比亚特区的最低工资最高，达到每小时17美元。其次是华盛顿州，其最低工资为每小时16.28美元。最低工资工作者最低工资工作在美国传统上被视为“入门级工作”，或是青少年和年轻成人的第一份工作。自1979年的近四百万降至2020年的约24.7万人。然而，2020年实际收入低于最低工资标准的劳动者人数显著增加，约为86.5万人。最低工资工作主要分布在食品制备和餐饮服务行业，以及销售岗位（主要在零售业）。由于最低工资未能跟上通货膨胀的脚步，且自2009年以来未曾上调，依靠最低工资维持生计变得越来越困难，这些工作者在支付如房租等生活必需品方面也面临着越来越大的挑战。