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

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) _ A new report from 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 places. 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.