Recently, the California State Legislature passed Assembly Bill 10 (AB 10) to increase the minimum wage, stipulating that the minimum hourly wage in California will be raised to $10 within three years, effective January 1, 2016. This will benefit 1.5 million full-time employees currently earning less than $10 per hour, representing 14% of all full-time employees in California.
By ethnicity, among the 1.5 million employees, the majority are Hispanic, accounting for 61.7%, followed by White at 20.7%, Asian at 12%, and African American at 4.4%. Approximately 180,000 Asian immigrants will benefit from this minimum wage increase.
By age, among the 1.5 million employees, approximately 900,000 are over the age of 30, all with annual incomes of less than $20,800; another approximately 80,000 are individuals over the age of 60.
By education level, among the 1.5 million people, more than one-third (36.2%) do not have a high school diploma; 28% are high school graduates; and 10.8% are college graduates.
