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Is the federal minimum wage today low by historical standards?

By EconoFact
YES

The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25. Accounting for inflation (using the Personal Consumption Expenditure Index), the real value of the minimum wage peaked in February 1968 at $1.60, which is about $9.70 in May 2021 dollars. The value of the minimum wage since 1968 has eroded due to the fact that wage increases have not kept up with inflation. At the current value of $7.25, a single parent working 40 hours and 52 weeks per year would still be earning under the poverty line.

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EconoFact is a non-partisan publication designed to bring key facts and incisive analysis to the national debate on economic and social policies. Launched in January 2017, it is written by leading academic economists from across the country who belong to the EconoFact Network. It is published by the Edward R. Murrow Center for a Digital World at The Fletcher School at Tufts University.
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