COMP NEWS – A new survey has indicated that the United States’ current minimum wage has lost around 21% of it’s value over the last twelve years.

A new report published Thursday by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) found the $7.25 minimum wage has lost roughly one-fifth of its value since July 2009, after adjusting for inflation.

The value of minimum wage in 2009 would be equivalent to $9.17 per hour today. Minimum wage hit its peak in 1986, according to EPI, as it would be worth $11.12 in today’s dollars.

“That’s a really remarkable finding, that more than 50 years ago we paid the lowest wage workers in this economy substantially more than what we pay them today,” Ben Zipperer, an economist at EPI, told Newsweek.

The study discovered that a full-time minimum wage worker could afford a one-bedroom rental unit in merely 7% of all counties across the country. The last time the minimum wage was raised was in July 2009.

As Capitol Hill has stalled on the issue, states have taken their own action to raise the minimum wage.

Ten states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation to increase wages to $15 an hour. Delaware on Monday became the latest state to do so as Gov. John Carney signed the bill on Monday.

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