An ongoing issue for small business throughout the US is the ongoing costs of labor. The cost of labor will be on 34 state ballots this year, minimum wage increases have been proposed, and at the behest of President Obama, the federal minimum wage may be increased to $10.10, from the current $7.25.
While the level of the wage itself is often discussed, it would be helpful to understand whom these revisions to the current statutes would apply to. According to the statistics that were provided by Jared Bernstein, former chief economist to Vice President Joseph Biden, and senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, the following attributes have been observed in the polity of minimum wage workers:
• 27% of all minimum wage workers are parents, compared to 34% of all workers.
• About 12% of those who would be affected by the minimum wage increase live in incomes households with gross income in excess of $100,000.
• 48% of the minimum wage workforce is comprised of women.
• 91% of minimum wage workers have completed their high school education, and 34% of those polled held degrees from accredited institutions of higher learning
• According to the Congressional Budget Office, 53% of the aforementioned workers who would be affected by the change in laws work at least 35 hours a week.