Half A Million People With College Degrees Are Working For Minimum Wage

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/03/31/3420987/college-degree-minimum-wage/

By Alan Pyke on March 31, 2014

Almost half a million college graduates are working minimum-wage jobs, according to new government statistics.

There were 260,000 Americans with bachelor’s degrees earning the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour or less in 2013, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ newest annual snapshot of minimum wage workers. Another 200,000 associate’s degree holders also worked for that wage.

-----

The glut of overqualified workers in minimum wage jobs is another piece of evidence against the common stereotype that such work is mostly done by teenagers who need to build a resume more than they need to earn an independent living. In fact, the vast majority of workers who would benefit from a minimum wage hike are adults who work to pay rent, cover hospital bills, and feed families. One in five American children has a parent in that group. Fast food workers — one of the largest subsets of minimum wage workers — are disproportionately black and female compared to the overall population.