Nearly 29% of workers in North Carolina make less than $17 per hour

More than 1.5 million workers, or roughly 28% of the workforce in North Carolina , make less than $17 per hour, according to new data from Oxfam .

Why it matters: The national average is 23.2%, and the study argues that North Carolina's decision to not raise the minimum wage has held its number back.

The big picture: Wages nationally are higher now in part because of inflation, and a strong labor market where lower-wage employees are still in high demand. But it's also due to the work of advocates who pushed for minimum wage increases for more than a decade.

• Plus: Pandemic-era benefits helped these workers be more choosy about finding better-paying jobs coming out of the record unemployment of 2020.

State of play: In neighboring Virginia, for example, just 21.5% of workers earn less than $17 per hour, and Virginia's minimum wage has gradually gone up since 2020 . It's $12 an hour today versus $7.25 four years ago, Axios Richmond reported.

• North Carolina's minimum wage is still $7.25 per hour.

Zoom in: The report shows there are wage disparities for women and people of color as well.

• 33.4% of working women make below $17 per hour in North Carolina compared to 24.7% of working men.
• 39.1% of Black workers and 44.4% of Hispanic workers in the state made below $17 per hour, compared to 25.2% of white workers. 21% of Asian American and American Indian workers made below $17 per hour.

Of note: Just 10.6% of workers making below $17 per hour were teenagers, according to Oxfam.