The Wage Mobility of Minimum Wage Workers

Using longitudinal data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, the authors examine the earnings mobility of workers employed at the minimum wage. Results indicate that over 60% of workers who were earning the minimum wage in the mid-1980s were earning higher wages one year later; for those with gains, the typical rise was nearly 20%. A significant minority of workers, however—most of them lacking a high school diploma or working on a part-time basis—did not advance beyond the minimum wage between the two survey dates.