HOUSEHOLD DATA

ANNUAL AVERAGES

Table 45. Wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage by occupation

and industry

(Numbers in thousands)

Occupation and industry

1999

Workers paid hourly rates

Total

Below

prevailing

Federal

minimum

wage

At 

prevailing

Federal

minimum

wage

Total at or below prevailing Federal

minimum wage

Number

Percent of

hourly-paid workers

OCCUPATION

Managerial and professional specialty ............................................. 10,078 91 37 129 1.3

 Executive, administrative, and managerial ..................................... 4,260 33 17 50 1.2

 Professional specialty ..................................................................... 5,818 58 21 79 1.4

Technical, sales, and administrative support .................................... 22,763 333 361 694 3.1

 Technicians and related support .................................................... 2,750 17 10 27 1.0

 Sales occupations .......................................................................... 7,445 186 231 417 5.6

 Administrative support, including clerical ........................................ 12,568 130 120 251 2.0

Service occupations ......................................................................... 13,438 1,424 470 1,894 14.1

 Private household ........................................................................... 425 145 11 156 36.8

 Protective service ........................................................................... 1,574 19 14 33 2.1

 Service, except private household and protective .......................... 11,440 1,260 445 1,705 14.9

 Food service workers ................................................................... 5,451 1,047 253 1,299 23.8

 Health service workers ................................................................. 2,213 52 40 92 4.2

 Cleaning and building service workers ......................................... 2,370 84 79 163 6.9

 Personal service workers ............................................................. 1,406 77 73 150 10.7

Precision production, craft, and repair .............................................. 9,781 51 14 64 .7

Operators, fabricators, and laborers ................................................. 14,882 245 198 444 3.0

 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ............................ 6,577 75 57 132 2.0

 Transportation and material moving occupations ........................... 3,567 44 27 71 2.0

 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers .................... 4,737 126 115 241 5.1

Farming, forestry, and fishing ........................................................... 1,364 50 65 114 8.4

INDUSTRY

Private wage and salary workers ...................................................... 63,557 2,080 1,028 3,109 4.9

 Agriculture .................................................................................... 1,156 36 54 90 7.8

 Nonagriculture industries .............................................................. 62,401 2,045 974 3,019 4.8

 Mining ......................................................................................... 322 4 2 6 1.9

 Construction ............................................................................... 4,687 42 10 52 1.1

 Manufacturing ............................................................................. 13,000 98 63 160 1.2

 Durable goods .......................................................................... 8,023 42 21 63 .8

 Nondurable goods .................................................................... 4,976 55 42 97 2.0

 Transportation and public utilities ............................................... 4,122 30 22 53 1.3

 Transportation .......................................................................... 2,604 25 17 42 1.6

 Communication and public utilities ........................................... 1,518 5 5 11 .7

 Wholesale and retail trade .......................................................... 17,859 1,276 540 1,817 10.2

 Wholesale trade ........................................................................ 2,396 29 15 44 1.9

 Retail trade ............................................................................... 15,463 1,247 525 1,772 11.5

 Eating and drinking places ..................................................... 5,209 1,008 268 1,276 24.5

 Finance, insurance, and real estate ........................................... 3,001 38 8 47 1.6

 Services ...................................................................................... 19,410 557 328 885 4.6

 Private households ................................................................... 487 152 11 163 33.5

 Other service industries ............................................................ 18,922 405 317 722 3.8

 Personal services, except private households ....................... 1,860 106 47 153 8.2

 Entertainment and recreation services ................................... 1,310 67 55 122 9.3

Government workers ........................................................................ 8,749 113 117 231 2.6

 Federal ........................................................................................... 1,829 13 9 22 1.2

 State ............................................................................................... 2,124 25 50 75 3.5

 Local ............................................................................................... 4,796 75 58 133 2.8

 NOTE: The prevailing Federal minimum wage was $5.15 per hour in 1999. Data

are for wage and salary workers, excluding the incorporated self-employed. They refer

to a person’s earnings on their sole or principal job, and pertain only to workers who

are paid hourly rates. Salaried workers and other nonhourly workers are not included.

The presence of workers with hourly earnings below the minimum wage does not

necessarily indicate violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, as there are exceptions

to the minimum wage provisions of the law. In addition, some survey respondents

might have rounded hourly earnings to the nearest dollar, and, as a result, reported

hourly earnings below the minimum wage even though they earned the minimum

wage or higher.

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