Study: The average Colorado low-wage worker is 34 years old | News & Observer

A think tank says the average age of a low-wage worker in Colorado is 34 and many are female minorities.

The Vail Daily reports that a study by the Colorado Fiscal Institute finds that more than a quarter of the jobs in Colorado were classified as low-wage in 2016.

The low-wage employment study defines these jobs as paying less than what a full-time worker would require in order to live above the federal poverty level with a family of four.

The study says the number of low-wage jobs has increased by 20 percent since 2010, and wages adjusted for inflation for median-wage workers are lower than what they were in 2000.

Institute economists say the real average low-wage worker is contrary to the widely held belief that most are teenagers.