Under current law, workers must be paid one and a half times their hourly wage for every hour they work over 40 in a week.

And starting in 1997, hourly wages will increase, to an average of $23.20 by 1999 from the current $20.37.

But average hourly wages rose 4.1 percent over the last 12 months.

Hourly wages for workers rose 3.8 percent over the last 12 months.

These employees worked 159,584 hours for an average hourly wage of $5.78.

That was almost enough to cover the 3.8 percent rise in the hourly wage.

In December 2001, the average real hourly wage for workers was $17.24.

In 2000 and 2001, hourly wages were increasing about 4 percent a year.

But the real average hourly wage is 5 percent lower than it was a decade ago.

Some get even the same hourly wages as regular employees.