EPI: Minimum Wage Hike Would Help 35 Million Workers

Increasing the federal minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2020 would provide 35.1 million of the lowest-paid workers in the U.S. with “a small yet long overdue” improvement in their standard of living, according to a briefing paper the Economic Policy Institute released July 14.

Employees who would benefit the most from increasing the hourly minimum wage from $7.25 to $12 include those whose average age is 36, according to the report, written by David Cooper, an economic analyst at the EPI. In addition, 55.9 percent of employees who would benefit from the wage hike are women, and more ...