The minimum wage in American Samoa has increased three times since 2007, most recently on May 25, 2009. Unlike the United States, American Samoa has separate minimum wages for 18 separate industries, currently ranging from $4.18 to $5.59 per hour. The tuna canning industry, American Samoa’s largest source of private sector employment, has a current minimum wage of $4.76 per hour and mostly employs foreign There is currently one labor from the neighboring islands of Samoa.operating cannery, Star-Kist, and its associated can manufacturer in American Samoa. An additional fish company has begun limited operations in American Samoa while renovating and planning to re-open the former Chicken of the Sea cannery in 2015. Each minimum wage in American Samoa will next be increased by $.50 per hour on September 30, 2015, with further increases every 3 years. Under current law, the minimum wage in the tuna canning industry will reach the U.S. minimum of $7.25 per hour in 2027. Economy. American Samoa’s real gross domestic product (GDP) and population have both declined in recent years. American Samoa’s 2012 real GDP of $504 million was 4.5 percent below the 2006 real GDP, and also slightly lower than the 2009 real GDP. Real GDP per capita increased 12.5 percent to $9,164 from 2006 to 2012. American Samoa’s population declined from 57,291 in 2000 to 55,519 in 2010. Employment. American Samoa tax combined with GAO questionnaire data show that the total number of employees in American Samoa increased 1.5 percent from 2011 to 2012 (from 15,552 to 15,790). However, from 2007 to 2012, employment declined 11 percent (from 17,677 to 15,790, with a peak of 19,229 in 2008).responses from the tuna canning industry show that their employment of hourly workers dropped by 13 percent from 2012 to 2013 and by 58 percent from 2007 to 2013. Earnings. Earnings analysis based on American Samoa tax, GAO questionnaire, and consumer price data show that, from 2011 to 2012, average inflation-adjusted earnings of those employed in American Samoa fell by 2 percent. The decrease resulted from average earnings increasing by 2 percent while prices increased 4 percent. For the overall period from 2007 to 2012, average inflation-adjusted earnings fell by about 5 percent; average annual earnings rose about 27 percent but local prices rose by about 34 percent. Although earnings data do not allow for a direct comparison of average and minimum wage annual earnings or for tracking the earnings of workers who lost their jobs, the hourly wage of minimum wage workers who retained their jobs and work hours has not increased by more than inflation since 2007. The inflation-adjusted earnings of minimum wage cannery workers who retained their jobs and work hours fell by about 4 percent from 2011 to 2012 and by about 5 percent from 2007 to 2012. Employer, government, and worker views. The discussion group of private sector employers we met with generally opposed additional minimum wage increases, citing American Samoa’s reliance on the tuna canning industry and fears about the effect of further increases on the industry and the economy. The American Samoa government, American Samoa’s largest employer, anticipated it would have to cut six employees to offset the 2015 minimum wage increase, with additional budget impacts resulting from any further increases. The Governor of American Samoa has stated that he would pursue changes in U.S. law to allow American Samoa to take control of its minimum wage. Star-Kist workers who participated in our discussion group generally opposed further minimum wage increases rather than supported future increases. Workers expressed concerns that any increase would result in lost jobs or a closure of the cannery. Some workers we spoke with also expressed concerns that future increases in the minimum wage would lead to an increase in prices in American Samoa, as they said occurred as a result of previous minimum wage increases. Tuna canning industry wages. Without a minimum wage increase in American Samoa from 2011 through 2013, there was no increase in the $4.76 median wage of tuna canning workers in that time. Since 2007, as a result of previous minimum wage increases, the median wage among workers in the tuna canning industry employed by questionnaire respondents has risen from $3.30 to $4.76 per hour (44 percent). Based on questionnaire responses about workers’ wages as of June 2013, the future minimum wage increases would affect the wages of 92 percent of the current workers in the canning industry by 2018, when the minimum wage reaches $5.76. Based on the wages workers currently earn, minimum wage increases would increase the average annual cost per worker in 2018 by an average annual cost of $1,723 per worker. By 2027, when the tuna canning minimum wage reaches $7.25, 98 percent of current workers in the tuna canning industry would be affected, increasing the average annual cost per worker by $4,710. Tuna canning employer actions. Two of the three employers in the tuna canning industry in American Samoa reported that they had taken cost-cutting actions from June 2010 to June 2013 including labor- and cost-saving strategies, and reduced overtime. The third employer, which was just beginning operations in American Samoa at that time, considered the questions not applicable. The two employers attributed all but one of their actions to a moderate or large extent to minimum wage increases. In addition to minimum wage increases, these two employers also attributed their actions to a moderate or large extent to increased utility and material costs. Two of three employers stated that they planned in the next 18 months to introduce labor- and cost-saving strategies, delay business expansion, relocate business, and reduce overtime hours. The two employers attributed all of these plans to a moderate or large extent to the minimum wage increases, but also to increased utility and material costs and business factors. Tuna canning industry analysis. Cannery officials stated that wage increases are one of many factors affecting the tuna canning industry in American Samoa, but that its labor costs, including the minimum wage increases, place American Samoa at a significant cost disadvantage in comparison with other canned tuna exporting countries. Both canneries cited congressional action to defer the next minimum wage increase to 2015 as encouraging their ability to invest in American Samoa. Cannery officials said that there is a spectrum of possible actions in response to increasing costs. For example, canneries could lower the staffing level or close certain production lines. See table 1 for key findings and appendix III for detailed findings and tables on American Samoa. The minimum wage in the CNMI has increased five times since 2007, with the most recent increase on September 30, 2012, bringing the minimum wage to $5.55 per hour. Under current law, the next minimum wage increase will occur on September 30, 2014, and the CNMI will reach the current U.S. minimum wage on September 30, 2018. The CNMI’s sizeable garment industry has left the territory, leaving tourism as its key industry. Tourists are primarily from Japan, Korea, China, and Russia. Chinese and Russian tourism has been supported by the Secretary of Homeland Security’s decision to exercise parole authority, allowing tourists from those countries to enter the CNMI. The CNMI economy heavily relies on a foreign workforce to support its economy; as of the 2010 decennial census, noncitizens comprised 43 percent of the CNMI population. Since the 2009 assumption of U.S. control over CNMI immigration, the Department of Homeland Security has annually reduced the number of permits for the CNMI’s foreign workforce in keeping with the requirement to bring the number of such permits down to zero by the end of 2014. Economy. The CNMI’s population and real GDP have both declined in recent years. In real terms, CNMI GDP decreased by approximately 36 percent overall from 2006 to 2012 though it has remained relatively flat since 2009. The CNMI’s real GDP per capita decreased approximately 24 percent from 2006 to 2012. The CNMI population declined from 69,221 in 2000 to 53,883 in 2010. Employment. The total number of people employed fell from 25,229 to 23,720 (about 6 percent) from 2011 to 2012 according to CNMI government tax data. For the entire period from 2006 to 2012, the number employed has fallen from 43,036 to 23,720 (45 percent), with most of the overall decrease occurring from 2006 to 2009. Decreases before 2009 reflect closure of the CNMI’s garment factories, which employed many foreign workers. Earnings. From 2011 to 2012, inflation-adjusted average earnings of those employed rose by 1 percent, according to CNMI government tax data and consumer price data. The increase in earnings resulted from a 3 percent increase in average earnings offset by a 2 percent increase in prices. Over the entire period from 2006 to 2012, average inflation-adjusted earnings fell by about 2 percent, with an about 29 percent increase in average earnings offset by an about 31 percent increase in prices. Although earnings data do not allow for a direct comparison of average and minimum wage annual earnings or for tracking the earnings of workers who lost their jobs, the hourly wage of minimum wage workers who retained their jobs and work hours has increased by more than inflation since 2006. The inflation-adjusted earnings of minimum wage workers who retained their jobs and work hours rose by about 7 percent from 2011 to 2012 and by about 39 percent from 2006 to 2012. Employer, government, and worker views. CNMI employers we spoke with supported the 2013 postponement of minimum wage increases. Participants in our discussion groups stated that businesses, particularly small businesses, could not absorb another minimum wage increase. However, the minimum wage was not as important a concern for discussion group participants as the potential loss of the foreign labor force.