Low-wage workers are getting older: For example, the share of low-wage workers aged 55 and older has more than doubled from 2000 to 2022

The bars show the share of workers paid low wages in 2022 compared to 2000, for each age group. For example, 5.8% of all workers aged 55–64 were paid low wages in 2000, but that share more than doubled by 2022 to 11.9%.

Bar chart comparing low-wage work prevalence across California in 2000 and 2022, by age groups: 16-17, 18-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-54, 55-64, and 65 and older. Relative to 2000, the share of low-wage workers aged 16-39 has dropped. Meanwhile, the share of low-wage workers aged 40 and up has increased, with the share of low-wage workers aged 55 and older more than doubling from 2000 to 2022.
In 2022, the value of the low-wage threshold is $19.69. The sample includes workers who live and work in California, were employed last week but not self-employed, ages 16+, and with non-zero earnings last week. To calculate the share of workers paid low wages in 2000, we inflate 2000 wages to 2022 dollars and apply the 2022 low wage threshold.
Chart: UC Berkeley Labor CenterSource: American Community Survey 2000 and 2022 • Get the dataEmbed Download imageDownload PDFDownload SVGCreated with Datawrapper