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Period: to
Span of Wage Increase
Includes wage increases from year 1940-2012 -
Minimum Wage for 1940
Nominal Wage: $0.30
Adjusted to 2012: $4.81
Unemployment Rate: 14.6% During this time period, US was just coming out of the Great Depression. Unemployment rate was high due to speculation that lead to the Great Depression, and left million of Americans unable to get their money back. Minimum Wage could've have decreased to decrease the unemployment rate, but it was already hard enough to live off the minimum wage. Therefore, the minimum wage remained still. -
Minimum Wage for 1950
Nominal Wage: $0.75
Adjusted to 2012: $7.01
Unemployment Rate: 5.3%
During this time period, WWII had ended, and the economy started to grow. WW2 ended in 1945, but it had a drastic increase for wages after a few years. Wage had increased by $0.45, and was allowing Americans to live better than they were during the Great Depression. This was partly because businesses started to grow, and people were able to get higher wages because businesses can afford to employ more. -
Minimum Wage for 1960
Nominal Wage: $1.00
Adjusted to 2012: $7.59
Unemployment Rate: 5.8%
During this time period, US's economy was growing faster than ever. This was partly due to automobiles, chemicals, electrically powered products, etc. At this point in time, US, was still increasing its production with the new technology that was being made. Minimum wage was increased by $0.25 and unemployment rose by 0.3%, which is still within the natural unemployment rate. -
Minimum Wage for 1970
Nominal Wage: $1.60
Adjusted to 2012: $9.28
Unemployment Rate: 4.9%
During this time period, the "Golden Age" was over. The economy was about to head into a recession. The stock market was a mess, and wages increased by $0.60. Wages grew a lot in one year. This resulted in inflation. Too much inflation can be bad because if there is too much inflation, it can be devastating to the economy and lead to hyper-inflation. A good example of hyper-inflation would be Zimbabwe. -
Minimum Wage for 1980
Nominal Wage: $3.10
Adjusted to 2012: $8.46
Unemployment Rate: $7.1
During this time period, there was massive inflation. The GDP was -2.5% and inflation was 17%. GDP accounts for the value of the final product made. No investments are included when calculating GDP. The minimum wage was already increased by $0.60 in one year, and now it was increased by $1.50. In the 1970's, the economy was already in a recession, and the worst thing it could've done was to increase the minimum wage even more. -
Minimum Wage for 1990
Nominal Wage: $3.80
Adjusted to 2012: $6.66
Unemployment Rate: 5.6%
During this time, the economy was weakening at first due to monetary policy. Monetary policy controls the supply of money, which targets inflation. The minimum wage increased, but not as much as it did before. $0.70 exactly .It was adjusted accordingly to inflation. Wages should always increase by 2% to adjust to inflation. This allowed the economy to restabilize, and allowed the economy to achieve natural unemployment. -
Minimum Wage for 2000
Nominal Wage: $5.15
Adjusted to 2012: $6.90
Unemployment Rate: 4.0%
During this time, unemployment was really low. This could be viewed as a good thing, however, that's not the case. The economy runs well when the economy is within natural unemployment. This was well below natural unemployment rate. If the economy ever reaches 0% unemployment, the prices would skyrocket due to high demand of goods and products. Wage increased $2.35 but had to be increased even more to adjust towards inflation. -
Minimum Wage for 2010
Nominal Wage: $7.25
Adjusted to 2012: $7.67
Unemployment Rate: 9.6%
During this time, the economy was in a very deep recession. Unemployment was so high due to the rise in demand for products. Wages had to be increased because there was too much inflation. The unemployment rate was so low that in drove demands for goods and products up, because more people had the money to purchase. Wages had increased by $2.10, which increased unemployment and attempted to restablize the economy.
