CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The proportion of West Virginia workers paid an hourly wage at or below the federal minimum standard declined in 2012, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released Wednesday.

There were 453,000 workers being paid hourly rates in West Virginia last year. The bureau said the proportion of them earning the current minimum wage of $7.25 per hour and those hourly workers earning less was split at 13,000 apiece.