# Is indexing minimum wage to inflation a good or bad idea?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-indexing-minimum-wage-to-inflation-a-good-or-bad-idea/764565>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [August 31, 2016, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-indexing-minimum-wage-to-inflation-a-good-or-bad-idea/764565 "2016-08-31T14:21:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 24

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**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-indexing-minimum-wage-to-inflation-a-good-or-bad-idea/764565/24 "2016-09-03T15:09:35Z")

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> [@Ruken](#):
>
> I’ll pull some actual labor numbers after I walk the dog. Iirc workforce participation is down, but not by much.

Ok the dog is walked. Juicy BLS datas:  
Civilian labor force participation, percent: [http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep\_table\_303.htm](http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_303.htm)  
Civilian labor force, number: [http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep\_table\_304.htm](http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_304.htm)

I prefer to look at the 25-64 population as a core group. That helps avoid affects from students and retirees. BLS doesn’t call that out separately, but some quick arithmetic gives us the following participation rates (2024 is a projection):

1994: 79.3  
2004: 78.9  
2014: 76.9  
2024: 77.6

Sample calculation for 1994:

## 131,056 16+ labor population 3,140 65-74 labor population 694 75+ labor population 21,612 16-24 labor population

105,610 25-64 labor population

Out of a 25-64 civilian noninstitutional population of 133,253 gives us 79%.

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