--- title: Labor Day: By the Numbers | TIME description: With the U.S. fight for a higher minimum wage in full swing, here's Labor Day, by the numbers. canonical: https://time.com/video/x5jFeQCW/ og:title: Labor Day: By the Numbers og:description: With the U.S. fight for a higher minimum wage in full swing, here's Labor Day, by the numbers. og:url: https://time.com/video/x5jFeQCW/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/x5jFeQCW/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Labor Day: By the Numbers twitter:description: With the U.S. fight for a higher minimum wage in full swing, here's Labor Day, by the numbers. twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/x5jFeQCW/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # Labor Day: By the Numbers > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: Labor Day: By the Numbers [Watch (HLS stream): Labor Day: By the Numbers](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/x5jFeQCW.m3u8) (2:18)  _Published 2015-09-01. With the U.S. fight for a higher minimum wage in full swing, here's Labor Day, by the numbers._ --- Jul 27, 2023 6:45 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Labor Day Weekend Travel: By the Numbers](/video/jhnR0kk2/) ### Labor Day Weekend Travel: By the Numbers [Labor Day by the Numbers: A Quick Look](/video/mlkNf4cx/) ### Labor Day by the Numbers: A Quick Look [Massachusetts Set For Highest State Minimum Wage In U.S.](/video/nERDNV4E/) ### Massachusetts Set For Highest State Minimum Wage In U.S. --- ## Transcript Since 1894 the U. S. had taken off the first Monday of September to honor workers around the country. [ MUSIC ] Labor Day 2015 comes during a year that's been turbulent for American workers. So with the U. S. fight for a higher minimum wage in full swing here's Labor Day by the numbers. First. 138 %. The average pay increase in real wages since 1979 for the top 1 % of earners. Compare that with the bottom 90 % who have seen their wages rise by 15 % in that same time. To make matters worse, most of the wage raises for the bottom 90 % levelled off 14 years ago. And for them, wages have been mostly stagnant since 2001. That being said the protests and strikes throughout the year have made a difference in many US cities. Four cities, New York, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles now have a $ 15 minimum wage plan in place. Washington, DC could join that small list as early as 2016. And while many major cities are vying for the elusive $ 15 minimum 29 states have a state minimum wage that's higher than the federal minimum wage of $ 7. 25 per hour. They said no to helping millions work their way out of poverty. It's been six years since the federal minimum wage rose from $ 5. 15 per hour to $ 7. 25. Over the past year president Obama has been pushing to raise the federal minimum to $ 10. This push for a higher wage from the Obama administration comes at a time when American laborers are working more than ever. A US employee works about 47 hours each week on average and and nearly 40 percent of employees report working more than 50 hours a week and such a strenuous work week can effect your health Employees who work 55 or more hours per week are 33 % more likely to have a stroke compared with those that work 35 to 40 hours per week. The last number is one. As in the one and only country in the world with an advanced economy that doesn't require paid vacation for workers. Unlike the U. S ., countries like Canada, Italy, Germany and France All offer guaranteed paid vacation time. So with those numbers in mind, fire up the grill, crack open a beer and try to enjoy Labor Day the best you can. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Labor Day: By the Numbers","description":"With the U.S. fight for a higher minimum wage in full swing, here's Labor Day, by the numbers.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/x5jFeQCW/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-09-01T22:12:26.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/x5jFeQCW.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/video/x5jFeQCW/","duration":"PT2M18S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/video/x5jFeQCW/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}} ```