"Nobody in Utah," said U.S. Rep. Chris Cannon last week, "is on minimum wage."

He stood by that assertion Tuesday, arguing that statistics showing otherwise are out of date and not reflective of the state's current labor market.

"I was not making grandiose and fatuous statements," said Cannon, R-Utah. "The fact is, the economy has done very well for the low end of people in Utah. And it will do better if we stay out of its way."

His Democratic opponent for the 3rd District congressional seat, Christian Burridge, said Cannon was "misinformed and out of touch."

Cannon's original comments were made during a debate with Burridge broadcast on KSL-TV.

He said increasing the minimum wage, currently $5.15 an hour, is "irrelevant" because the demand for workers has forced wages upward.

"If you're on minimum wage, go back to school," Cannon said. "Or just go down to the local McDonald's and get a better job, because jobs are going for $7.50 an hour everywhere."

Burridge, who said during the debate that the minimum wage should be raised to "at least $7 an hour," said Tuesday that his opponent's remarks had kicked up a brouhaha on the campaign trail.

"Everywhere I go, that's all anyone wants to talk about now," Burridge said. "People are coming up to me and saying, 'I can't believe he said that.' "

According to 2005 data compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics -- the latest numbers available -- 16,000 Utah workers make $5.15 an hour or less.

Those are old numbers for minimum wage workers, argued Cannon, especially in a state where the unemployment rate recently hit 2.8 percent.

Simply looking at statistics, Cannon added, doesn't take into account tips people receive, or disabilities, or the fact that the low wage may be during a training period.

"These aren't including tips or training, which is probably a key factor in the people who are at $5.15 an hour," Cannon said. "I'd really love to see if there is anybody actually working at a minimum wage who doesn't have a handicap, isn't doing training, doesn't have tips.

"The debate about the minimum wage really ought to be a debate about how to make the economy robust so we can bid up the minimum wage."

The federal minimum wage was increased to $5.15 an hour 10 years ago. When adjusted for inflation, the minimum wage is at its lowest value since 1955. Across the country, about 1.8 million people are paid the minimum wage or less, according to the BLS.

Bureau statistics from September this year show that Utah's total civilian work force is more than 1.3 million people strong, so the 16,000 would represent about 1.2 percent of all workers in the state.

The Economic Policy Institute, which advocates for a higher minimum wage, estimates that 81,000 Utah workers who are paid between $5.15 and $7.25 an hour would directly benefit from increasing the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour by 2008. That increase would benefit 180,000 workers overall, the analysis says.

The Utah Legislature considered increasing the minimum wage in the state to $6.50 an hour earlier this year, but the legislation didn't make it out of committee hearings.

Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia have set their minimum wage levels higher than the federal rate. Six more states -- including Utah neighbors Nevada, Colorado and Arizona -- have pending ballot initiatives that would raise the wage.

Alan Choate can be reached at 344-2556 or alanchoate@heraldextra.com.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D1.