Report: Kentucky’s minimum wage lags below poverty level

KENTUCKY (FOX 56) — A report released in July revealed that, in the 16 years since Kentucky’s minimum wage increased, it has been driven below the poverty line for a full-time worker.

Currently, Kentucky’s minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, which, according to the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy (KyPolicy) report, is equivalent to a 75-year low in terms of purchasing power.

The report claimed that government inaction regarding the minimum wage increase has “left tens of thousands of people across the commonwealth earning poverty wages,” while the costs of housing, food, and other essentials have skyrocketed.

KyPolicy noted that the minimum wage was established in 1937 during the Great Depression to ensure “a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.” The wage was created to provide a safety net through which no worker could fall.

However, due to inflation and inaction, the reported claims that Kentucky workers who are tipped, incarcerated, or living in expensive areas continue to fall further behind.

KyPolicy claimed that, if Kentucky’s minimum wage had kept pace with inflation from its peak in 1968, Kentuckians would earn at least $14.70 per hour.

The United States Department of Labor released data that showed none of the roughly 1.1 million hourly workers in Kentucky work for minimum wage. Kentucky workers were noted to refuse to take minimum wage jobs because the wage falls below the poverty level.

The report noted that Kentucky can raise its minimum wage above the federal level. If the Commonwealth increased the minimum wage to $17 per hour, an estimated 478,000 workers would see an increase in their wages.

This would leave nearly half of hourly-paid workers better off, according to the report.