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On July 24, 2007, the federal minimum wage rose from $5.15 to $5.85 an hour. It will rise again to $6.55 in July 2008, and to $7.25 in July 2009. Some 45 states, and many counties and cities, have separate minimum wage laws; 30 of the 45 states with minimum wages set them higher than the federal minimum, led by Washington state, where the minimum wage in 2007 is $7.93.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that there were two million US workers earning less than the federal minimum wage in 2002. Many of these workers were immigrants, according to other studies, and migrant advocates have begun to file more complaints on their behalf.

About 20 percent of US workers must obtain some type of license from federal, state, or local governments to work- up from five percent in the 1950s. Some of the licenses are longstanding, as for doctors and lawyers, and there are more license requirements in the eastern than the western US. Many economists consider licensing requirements a way for professional societies to act like unions and limit the supply of workers, helping to keep wages higher.