248,000 Hourly Workers in Minnesota Make $9.50 or Less

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – A new report from the state labor officials shows about 15-percent of hourly employees in Minnesota make the minimum wage of $9.50 an hour or less.

The Department of Labor and Industry report shows there are about 1.6 million hourly workers in Minnesota and 31-percent work in restaurants, bars, and other eating and drinking establishments. Thirty-eight percent of those workers get tips, overtime of commissions.

The analysis also shows 46-percent of minimum wage workers are older than 24 and that women are more likely than men to be paid the minimum wage.

Minnesota raised its minimum wage to $9.50 an hour last year for employers with annual revenues of at least $500,000. It’s $7.75 for employers with less than $500,000 in annual business.