Oxfam America, an organization that operates globally to end poverty and injustice, released a report on Tuesday, revealing that almost 52 million workers, nearly a third of the U.S. labor force, earn less than $15 an hour. The study found the groups that disproportionately make less than $31,200 annual income are women and people of color, CNN reports.
The study indicated that 50% of women of color in the workforce make less than $15 an hour. The report also showed that about 47% of Black workers and 46% of Hispanic workers earn less than $15 an hour, compared to 26% of white workers.
“This year, we find that the national average housing wage, which is what someone would need to earn if they were working full time, 52 weeks out of the year, in order to be able to afford rent and utilities and fair market rent — nationally, someone would need to earn $20.40 an hour to afford a one-bedroom rental home, and they would need to earn $24.90 an hour to be able to afford a two-bedroom home,” Dan Threet, a housing program specialist at U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, said, according to HuffPost.
Threet explained that the average renter’s wage is $18.78 an hour, and minimum wage employees earn less than that, depending on the state they live in.
Democrats have insisted the federal minimum be increased to $15 per hour nationwide, HuffPost reports.
The Labor Department said that consumer prices increased 0.8% between January and February, and costs were 7.9% higher in February than they were last year, according to NPR.
“It’s shameful that at a time when many U.S. companies are boasting record profits, some of the hardest working people in this country — especially people who keep our economy and society functioning — are struggling to get by and falling behind,” Kaitlyn Henderson, a senior research adviser at Oxfam America and the study’s author, said in the study’s release, HuffPost reports.
“It’s been 13 years since Congress raised the wage floor in this country, and in that time all costs of living have steadily climbed,” she said.
Oxfam’s report also includes a map showing percentage of workers who earn less than $15 by state. The state of Mississippi has the highest percentage of workers earning less than $15 per hour, which include 63% of Black workers and 70% of women of color. Due to their higher minimum wages, Washington, D.C., Washington state and California have a lower percentage of low-wage earning workers, according to the study.
