For Immediate Release: Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Contact: Phoebe Silag or Karen Conner, news@epi.org 202-775-8810

The minimum wage is not worth nearly as much as it was decades ago. Today’s Snapshot, from EPI’s forthcoming State of Working America Web site, shows the inflation-adjusted value of the minimum wage since 1960, in 2009 dollars. Although each legislated increase in the minimum wage has served to increase its value, these increases have generally been short-lived, with inflation naturally eroding its purchasing power over time. As a result, the current value of the minimum wage is well below its historic peak in the late 1960s.

EPI’s latest edition of The State of Working America will be published online in January.