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Lower wages for teens may be worth taking a look at
A lower wage for teens? We think the House Commerce Committee is onto something. A few days ago, they passed a new measure that would set the minimum wage for those 22 or younger to 75 percent of the state's minimum wage rate.
The state's current minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. That means some younger workers could be hired at only $5.44 an hour.
Nationally, the most recent figures breaking down unemployment by age from the U.S. Census Bureau show nearly 19 percent of those 16 through 19 who want to work were unemployed in 2008. At that time, the overall state jobless rate was 6.1 percent. The figure for those 20 through 24 was 10.3 percent.
Federal minimum wage law already has a youth exemption. It states that for the first 90 calendar days of employment, those under 20 years old can be paid $4.25 an hour. But after that first 90 days, the wage reverts to the federal minimum.
At this point, businesses that operate across state lines or that have $500,000 or more in annual revenues would have to follow the federal law. The state bill would only apply to small local businesses not covered by federal law.
We think this could be a good idea. The highest unemployment rate during this recession is for younger workers. A lot of these young people simply can't get into the job market because business owners can't afford to pay them the higher minimum. Besides, if they are forced to pay $7.25 an hour, why not hire a more experienced worker who will be underemployed even at the higher rate.
We think the Legislature ought to look at getting the age limits in line with federal law, so the cutoff should be at 20 years old. And many businesses would not qualify for this exception in any case because of their revenues or sales across state lines.
Nevertheless, we think this might be a useful measure to allow businesses to hire young people with little experience at a lower rate. At least kids who want to work can get a foot in the door and something to put on their resume. In the final analysis, the market will determine the rate. If this recession ends and there are more jobs than workers, the wages will rise of their own accord.
The state's current minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. That means some younger workers could be hired at only $5.44 an hour.
Nationally, the most recent figures breaking down unemployment by age from the U.S. Census Bureau show nearly 19 percent of those 16 through 19 who want to work were unemployed in 2008. At that time, the overall state jobless rate was 6.1 percent. The figure for those 20 through 24 was 10.3 percent.
Federal minimum wage law already has a youth exemption. It states that for the first 90 calendar days of employment, those under 20 years old can be paid $4.25 an hour. But after that first 90 days, the wage reverts to the federal minimum.
At this point, businesses that operate across state lines or that have $500,000 or more in annual revenues would have to follow the federal law. The state bill would only apply to small local businesses not covered by federal law.
We think this could be a good idea. The highest unemployment rate during this recession is for younger workers. A lot of these young people simply can't get into the job market because business owners can't afford to pay them the higher minimum. Besides, if they are forced to pay $7.25 an hour, why not hire a more experienced worker who will be underemployed even at the higher rate.
We think the Legislature ought to look at getting the age limits in line with federal law, so the cutoff should be at 20 years old. And many businesses would not qualify for this exception in any case because of their revenues or sales across state lines.
Nevertheless, we think this might be a useful measure to allow businesses to hire young people with little experience at a lower rate. At least kids who want to work can get a foot in the door and something to put on their resume. In the final analysis, the market will determine the rate. If this recession ends and there are more jobs than workers, the wages will rise of their own accord.
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J-6 wrote on Mar 6, 2010 9:03 AM: