Average salary for service workers just climbed above $ 15 / hour

Democrats did not succeed a minimum wage of $ 15 earlier this year, but workers are forcing employers to raise wages themselves by essentially withholding work until conditions improve.

According to the Washington post, the average salary for the restaurant and the grocery store store workers recently overcome $ 15 an hour for the very first time, an increase fueled by what many have called a “worker shortage.” But while some conservative employers and politicians may blame extended unemployment benefits and stimulus checks on Americans who don’t return to work, the reasons people stay at home are more complicated.

Indeed, unemployment checks and savings are do some workers are more selective about which jobs they will take or whether they will apply for one. This is only a problem for those who regard work as a moral requirement, as well as an economic one. (It’s also worthless that the states that have cut unemployment benefits aren’t necessarily see more people go back to work That is.) Other workers, however, are reluctant to re-enter the labor market due to child care expenses, or discomfort about covid exposure. And then there are those who find it frustrated employers are often reluctant to do the one thing that would make the jobs they offer more attractive: increase wages.

It seems that some companies have finally started to give in. To post reports that some 80 percent of American workers are now paid at least $ 15 an hour, which is a 60% increase from seven years ago. Many of the workers who will see the biggest pay increases are those who work in traditionally low-paying jobs, such as those in the service sector. From To post:

Before the pandemic, the average non-executive restaurant worker earned $ 13.86 an hour. In June, the most recent month for which data from the Ministry of Labor is available, that amount had skyrocketed to $ 15.31, an increase of more than 10%. Supermarket workers just crossed the $ 15 threshold in June –their wages have increased 7% since the start of the pandemic, to $ 15.04 an hour.

It is essential to note, as the To post fact, that increasing the average wage is not the same as increasing the federal minimum wage, which has remained stagnant at $ 7.25 since 2009. A large portion of workers still earn less than $ 15 a month. ‘time, and they may not see their salary increase until the federal government is taking action.

It’s still a will to workers that the average wage has increased at all. Their refusal to accept the same salary and crappy working conditions is a radical act since he dares to question why we work at all. Workers may have to return to work even if they contemplate such a huge existential issue, but at least they will earn slightly higher wages when they do.