The Labor Center conducts a wide range of research on low-wage work in California and nationally. Our research focuses on documenting and understanding working conditions in low-wage industries, especially for women, immigrants, and workers of color. We also analyze policies to raise labor standards at the local, state, and national levels.
For an in-depth description of California’s low-wage workforce, see our Data Explorer.
View our Inventory of US City and County Minimum Wage Ordinances.
You can also visit our Black Worker project.
Minimum wage, living wage, and other labor standards studies.
Research on the societal and fiscal costs of low-wage work.
In-depth studies of labor markets and working conditions in low-wage industries.
September 15, 2022
What will California’s FAST Recovery Act do for Fast Food Workers?
August 30, 2022
FAST Recovery Act will raise labor standards and open new opportunities for fast-food worker organizing in California
September 2, 2022
Without union protection, workers are being cheated by their employers
May 16, 2022
RELEASE: Failure to Deliver: Assessing Amazon’s Freedom of Association Policy under International Labor Standards
May 15, 2022
40 years later, labor leaders remember NYC Chinatown’s garment worker strike
The California state government has close to a quarter of a million employees, almost half of whom are women and almost two-thirds of whom are workers of color. But across occupations and throughout the state, many state workers earn well below what is needed to attain a decent standard of living in California.
A report released today by the UC Berkeley Labor Center finds that many workers essential to keeping the state running and providing crucial services are struggling to make ends meet.
UPDATED MARCH 1, 2023. Compilation of living wage and self-sufficiency calculators that provide data on California.
Our minimum wage and living wage tools and resources includes our Inventory of US City and County Minimum Wage Ordinances and a table of current local minimum wages in California.
This blog post outlines the assistance offered by the recently-established Child Care Providers United California Workers Health Care Fund, summarizes recent findings from a David Binder Research/ California Health Care Foundation survey that underscore the need for this new health care investment for family child care providers, and discusses how the program will improve affordability for providers and benefit California as a whole.
“In an industry where it’s very hard for workers to unionize because of the franchise model, it creates a way in which workers can have a collective voice in the process of setting the standards in their industry,”
The highest minimum wage in the state is found in West Hollywood. The small SoCal city known for its competitive wages now pays workers $18.86 per hour.
The University of California, Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education has studied the law extensively, but has no evidence yet about its impact. “From our previous research, I believe the benefits of the law will far outweigh any negative effects,” said Ken Jacobs, the center’s chairman.
Enrique Lopezlira, the director of the Low-Wage Program at the UC Berkeley Labor Center, said that women and workers of color were affected more severely by the pandemic because they are overrepresented in industries that pay low wages, where they had to work on-site and risk their health during the pandemic.
A recent study by the University of California Berkeley reveals that 39% of construction workers are forced to enroll in one or more safety net programs to make ends meet, these programs cost the taxpayer $28 billion annually.
Enrique Lopezlira
Director, Low-Wage Work Program
Annette Bernhardt
Director, Technology and Work Program
Ken Jacobs
Labor Center Chair
Aida Farmand
Research and Policy Associate
Savannah Hunter
Research and Policy Associate
Seema Patel
Practitioner in Residence
