The following report from the Pew Research Center confronts the misleading yet prevailing narrative that single head of households earning at or near the minimum wage are a significant component of the labor force.
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/09/08/who-makes-minimum-wage/
Of note:
- 4.3% of the nation’s 75.9 million hourly-paid workers and 2.6% of all wage and salary workers earn at or below the federal minimum wage. This percentage has been decreasing for over three decades.
- 50.4% are ages 16 to 24; 24% are teenagers (ages 16 to 19)
- 64% are part-time workers