Alabama third highest percentage of minimum wage workers in U.S. - WDAM-TV 7-News, Weather, Sports-Hattiesburg, MS

Approximately 326-thousand people in Alabama make minimum wage. That's according to the Department of Labor's report that 6.8 percent of Alabama's workforce makes $7.25 an hour, the third highest percentage in the country.

Tennessee actually had the highest percentage in the entire U.S. In 2013 that number was 7.4 percent with Idaho in number two with 7.1 percent Alabama had the third highest rate at 6.8 percent

The states with the lowest percentages of hourly paid workers earning at or below the federal minimum wage were Washington, California, and Oregon, all at less than 2 percent It should be noted that some states have minimum wage laws establishing standards that exceed the federal minimum wage.

The Department of Labor goes a step further, dividing the states into regional categories. Alabama and Tennessee are in the East South Central group, which consists of Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi. That group had the highest percentage of workers paid less than minimum wage, at 3 percent of the work force. The group with the lowest percentage was the Pacific group at 1.5 percent which includes Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.

President Obama signed an executive order to raise minimum wage, and tipped minimum wage for federal contract workers. The President wants Congress to raise minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour, and index the amount for inflation in the future.

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