New Report Gives Facts, Figures, and Context Related to Oregon's Minimum Wage

The Oregon Employment Department has released a new report about the state's minimum wage. At $9.25 per hour, Oregon's minimum wage ranks 8th highest among all states. Oregon's minimum wage sits $2 per hour above the national rate ($7.25) which has been the same since 2009.

Almost 100,000 (or 5%) of Oregon's jobs paid $9.25 or less in the first quarter of 2015. About one-third of Oregon's jobs (34%) earned wages between $9.26 and $14.99 in 2015. Altogether, two out of every five jobs in the state paid less than $15.00 per hour.

More than two-thirds of all minimum wage jobs in Oregon were found in leisure and hospitality, retail trade, and natural resources and mining during the first quarter of 2015. Occupations with the largest number of jobs at $10 per hour or less included food preparation and serving workers, waiters, retail salespersons, cashiers, cooks, bartenders, and janitors.

Generally, almost two-thirds of minimum wage workers are women. Minimum wage workers tend to be young, and most do not have a college degree.

In Oregon, the number and share of minimum wage jobs varies from one county to the next. For example, Malheur County's 1,500 minimum wage jobs totaled 11 percent of all jobs, the highest share of all counties. At the same time, Multnomah County's 19,000 minimum wage jobs accounted for 4 percent of all jobs.

Much more information about the state's minimum wage can be found in the full report, "Oregon's Minimum Wage Jobs: Facts, Figures, and Context." State Employment Economist Nick Beleiciks also details many interesting findings from the new minimum wage report in this podcast: