Minimum Wage Jobs in Florida See Increase in Pay
Those with minimum wage jobs in Florida received a raise this week. As of January 1st the state’s lowest legal pay went from $6.79 to $7.21 an hour. This 6.2 percent increase won’t be the last that workers in the Sunshine State get this year. In July the federal minimum wage will increase to $7.25, causing workers to earn a small amount more for every hour they are on the clock. Altogether, this equals an extra $17 a week during the course of a 40 hour work week.
Although this may sound great for the workers, many are concerned about what problems this will cause for those who provide jobs throughout Florida. The increase in the minimum wage will cause employers a lot of money, meaning that places of businesses that are already struggling may have to lay off more workers. This will certainly cause the unemployment rate to rise.
Another problem that often accompanies an increase in the minimum wage at any level is inflation. Since employers are having to pay out more to their workers, they often begin to charge more for their services. This enables them to keep their profit margins up and still pay the increase in wages to their workers. The problem is that their workers now have to pay more for everything since other businesses are having the same problem.
According to the Associated Press, approximately 900,000 people with jobs in Florida will be effected by the increase. Experts from the University of California at Irvine have said that, with 10 percent of the state’s workforce being effected, there will most likely be a backlash that causes a 8.5 percent decrease in employment for young minorities and those who dropped out of high school.
Despite all of these problems, an amendment was added to the state’s Constitution by voters back in 2004 which made it where Florida’s Agency for Workforce Innovation calculates the new minimum wage each year. Since the passing of this partial legislation, the lowest hourly wage a worker can make has increased by $2.06 an hour. Statistically, this costs a business with 20 workers at this pay level more that $80,000 each year.