Top five minimum wage mythbusters.
#1 Myth: Raising the minimum wage will mostly benefit teenagers.
The vast majority of minimum wage workers aren’t teenagers. In fact, the number of minimum wage workers who are teenagers has been decreasing for decades. In 1979, 18% of low-wage workers were teenagers, but by 2014, only 5% of low-wage workers were teenagers.
The average minimum wage worker is 35. Nearly two-thirds of minimum wage workers are women, and many of them are supporting families. Nearly half of Oregon’s low-wage workers are married; 41% have children; and almost a quarter are single parents—which is a higher percentage than for Oregon’s workforce as a whole.
#2 Myth: Raising the wage will kill jobs.
Most of the businesses that employ minimum wage workers are profitable and resilient—many of them are large corporations. Almost half of the jobs added back since the Great Recession have been in low-wage jobs that don’t pay enough for workers to make ends meet. That means corporations are fueling their profits at the expense of Oregon’s working families.
The 13 states that raised their minimum wages in 2014 have seen faster job creation than the states that didn’t raise their wages, and dozens of studies have shown the same thing: minimum wage increases have little or no effect on employment.
#3 Myth: Raising the minimum wage is bad for business.
Businesses in all communities depend on customers having enough money in their pockets to spend. One business’ employee is the next business’ customer—studies show that low-wage workers would put every dollar they earn and more back into the economy if they were given a raise. But when we don’t have enough money in our pockets, that can’t happen.
#4 Myth: Oregon’s minimum wage is a living wage.
Today’s minimum wage is not enough to live on, and no one who works full-time should live in poverty. A full-time worker with a minimum wage job in Oregon makes only $20,000 a year—that’s just $1,600 a month to cover all living expenses.
No matter what community you live in, that’s just not enough to make ends meet.
While Oregon’s economy has doubled in size in recent years, the purchasing power of the minimum wage has gone down, making it impossible for Oregon’s low-wage workers to support their families.
Raising the minimum wage will give Oregonians a chance to be self-sufficient and provide a future for themselves and their children.
#5 Myth: Raising the wage is bad for Oregon’s economy.
Oregon’s economy is powered by small businesses and paying employees a living wage for their hard work is one of the most effective things we can do to strengthen our economy.
Claims that raising the wage would kill jobs run contrary to recent economic research. Past minimum wage increases in Oregon and studies of minimum wage increases across the country have shown that raising the wage does not create job losses.
Extensive analysis of federal, state and local minimum wage increases from the Labor Center at UC Berkeley and the Center for Economic and Policy Research has found little to no measurable effect on employment or hours from minimum wage policies. Instead, research evidence indicates that the costs of minimum wage increases are absorbed through reductions in absenteeism, less employee turnover, and improved performance on the job.
The 13 states that raised their minimum wages in 2014 have seen faster job creation than the states that didn’t raise their wages, and dozens of studies have shown the same thing: minimum wage increases have little or no effect on employment.
