Employment in jobs paying low wages is an important aspect of the National debate over growing economic inequality in our society and the job creating capacity of our economy. Concern over the growth of low-paying jobs has been raised in both the media and policy circles, and proposals for raising the Federal minimum wage from its current level of $4.25 have been discussed.

What is known about employment in low-wage jobs comes from research using government surveys. Although conceptual issues abound in defining low-wage employment (some of these are discussed in the Note at the end of the report), there is a general belief that low-wage workers are relatively more numerous today than in previous decades. Indeed, data on workers with low earnings from the Census Bureau tend to corroborate this. In 1994, 16.2 percent of all persons who usually worked full-time (35 hours or more a week), year-round (50 to 52 weeks) had annual earnings below the poverty threshold for a four-person family (or $13,828); in 1984, the comparable proportion was 14.6 percent.