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U.S. needs higher minimum wage

Photo Illustration: Kayla Stroud/THE SPECTATOR

Written by: Kailee Kivett, Staff Writer

According to CNN, the U.S. economy has produced an average of 261,000 jobs every month for the past year. However, minimum wage has only been increased by 52 cents in the same amount of time.

Although new jobs are being created every month, the recovery process is actually considered by experts to be too slow. It took six and a half years for the economy to reinstate the jobs that were lost at the beginning of the recession. This pace is costly for numerous unemployed households, and needs to be quickened. Plus, all of the jobs being created are centered in retail, food services and housekeeping, which are all low-wage occupations.

The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development shows that the U.S. has one of the highest percentages of low wage jobs, beating out Japan, Korea and Germany.

These statistics are making college students everywhere nervous. More people are entering the work force with a college degree every year, which means more people competing for the same jobs. Students are paying plenty of money to earn a quality education and they do not seem to be getting the proper return on their investment. According to CNN, the average salary is less in real dollars than it was in 1980.

The U.S. desperately needs to provide higher minimum wages to keep up with this state of the economy. Some cities, such as Los Angeles, are planning to increase the minimum wage within the next two years. Seattle is already ahead, though, with the minimum wage set at $15 an hour.

There is a plan from Washington D.C. to increase the minimum wage to at least $11.50 for the rest of the country by 2016. Hopefully, this plan will provide some necessary relief for households across the nation.

 

 

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