The Massachusetts economy is stronger when all working families can make ends meet. Unfortunately, since the 1970s, wages have generally stopped growing with the economy and many working families find it difficult to pay for basic needs. As shown in the graph below, hourly wages grew in tandem with productivity during the late 1940’s to the early 1970’s. During this period economic gains were broadly shared by the very workers who helped create this growth. Yet, after 1973, while productivity continued to grow, wages for most workers did not.
A measure now before the New Hampshire legislature seeks to strengthen the minimum wage and to begin to build an economy that works for everyone in the Granite State. More specifically, HB 1403 would raise New Hampshire’s minimum wage in two steps: from $7.25 to $8.25 per hour on January 1, 2015 and to $9.00 per hour on January 1, 2016. The measure would also require automatic annual cost of living adjustments, based on the Consumer Price Index, beginning in 2017.
This paper examines the proposed increase, beginning with a brief review of New Hampshire’s current minimum wage and then exploring how that wage compares to historical minimum wage levels, key standards of need, and other states’ wage floors. It next provides estimates of the number of New Hampshire workers who would be affected by the proposal and discusses some of its broader economic consequences. It concludes that raising New Hampshire’s minimum wage could help working families, local businesses, and the New Hampshire economy as a whole.
Florida’s female workforce earned an average annual salary of $11,260 below their male counterparts in 2013, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics1. Five decades after the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 women continue to earn 23.1% below men’s an average annual salary.
Louisianans of all political stripes strongly favor establishing a state minimum wage of at least $8.50 an hour that would keep pace with the cost of living, according to polling data released as part of a new report from the Louisiana Budget Project.
The poll of 1,279 Louisiana adults by LSU’s Public Policy Research Lab found that 73 percent of the public supports raising the wage from the current minimum of $7.25 per hour. The support is consistent across party lines, with 62 percent of Republicans favoring the higher wage along with nearly 70 percent of political independents. Voters in every age, income and racial bracket support the higher wage.
“While some politicians make the minimum wage a partisan issue, the verdict from everyday Louisianans is clear and bipartisan: it’s time to give workers a raise,” LBP Director Jan Moller said.
The data is included in a new report by David Gray, “Louisiana Needs a Higher Wage,” that also found that an $8.50 minimum wage would provide an immediate raise for 184,000 workers, create an estimated 1,400 new jobs and pump more than $187 million into Louisiana’s economy. Raising the wage to $10.10 per hour would have even bigger benefits for workers and the overall economy.
“This report should put to rest some of the tired misconceptions about minimum wage workers, “ Moller said. “A modest raise in the minimum wage would have huge benefits for Louisiana workers and would actually help create jobs as workers have bigger paychecks to spend throughout the economy.”
Many people assume that minimum wage workers are mainly teens working part-time jobs. But the reality is that teens make up less than 10 percent of the minimum wage workforce. Nearly one-third of all low-wage workers are over 40, and almost two-thirds work full-time hours.