Ottakee Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 This has been a topic of conversation in our area lately. We had an extremely high unemployment rate (above 20%) that is coming down now. There ARE jobs out there.........BUT they don't pay a "living wage". By living wage, I mean where a 1 wage earner family of a husband/wife and 2 kids can live a working class lifestyle ( not even middle class) without extra government support (foodstamps, Medicaid, child care benefits, etc). Most jobs that are available in our area pay $9-11/hour, even for workers with a lot of skills---tool and die, automotive repair, store managers, etc. That is NOT a living wage. One shop locally is now paying $10/hour with LESS benefits than my husband got when he was working there doing the SAME job for $11/hour TWENTY THREE years ago. Then it was a living wage, now it is not with gas prices up over 3-4x, housing costs WAY up, utilities, food, etc. It is tough. We are in West Michigan so not out in a super rural area, etc. If you look at Craig's list for job openings it is rare to find any that start above $10/hour. With a basic 2 bedroom apartment going for $800 + utilities a family just can't make it on person working. A lot of the guys my dh works with used to make close to double what they make now for skilled trades but they can't find a job above $10-12/hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 No, even though California has one of the highest minimum wages in the country (I believe it just went up to $9 and is scheduled to rise to $10 in the near future) and it applies even to tipped waitstaff, and some localities like San Francisco and San Jose have an even higher minimum wage than that. But it's nowhere remotely enough to live on in any kind of decent manner even for a single adult. That's why you see things like a 2 BR apartment being shared by a dozen individuals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandelion Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 As Sadie said, it depends on the sector. The well-paying jobs in our area are predominantly in military contracting, high tech, electronics, aerospace, and healthcare. The military employs ~20% of the workforce in our city. Outside of those sectors, we have the same $9-11/hour average wage as noted in the OP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whereneverever Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Yes. Our economy is booming, we have one of the lowest unemplyment rates in the nation, and you can get a great paying job with just the desire to work. It might not be glamorous, though. Lots of oil, coal, and explosive plant jobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeganCupcake Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 It really depends on what field you're in in my area. I do know quite a few one-earner families, but also a lot who supplement the primary wage earner's pay with something on the side, like medical transcription, or part time home child care, or something like that. Most of the one-earner families I know earn their income in jobs in higher education, high tech, medicine, etc. The company my DH works for is hiring, but they're looking for engineers, and not everyone can be an engineer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elfknitter.# Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 No, even though California has one of the highest minimum wages in the country (I believe it just went up to $9 and is scheduled to rise to $10 in the near future) and it applies even to tipped waitstaff, and some localities like San Francisco and San Jose have an even higher minimum wage than that. But it's nowhere remotely enough to live on in any kind of decent manner even for a single adult. That's why you see things like a 2 BR apartment being shared by a dozen individuals. CA minimum wage doesn't go up to $9 until July. $10 won't take effect until January 2016. http://www.dir.ca.gov/iwc/minimumwagehistory.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Once again, it depends. 10 years ago I was able to do pretty well as a single mom with one kid. The job I have now I basically walked back into a very similar position making slightly more money with full benefits. I'm an executive level administrative assistant. When dh wasn't working for himself, we were easily able to have me stay home. We could easily be there again if he wanted to accept a position working for someone else. Hopefully we will be there soon with his own company. He is an executive/VP level generic pharmaceutical chemist. I know single childcare workers who are able to afford their own place, and the vast majority of moms I know (not just homeschoolers) are SAHM or do very part time stuff on the side. Their husbands do a variety of things although I would say most are in white-collar positions, although I know a few who work in the prison system, or for UPS, or manufacturing jobs. NJ is heavy in pharmaceutical companies which tend to pay fairly decent, although they aren't the most stable jobs with constant mergers. It can vary a LOT between one area of NJ and another. I live in one of the semi-higher areas. If I were willing to commute an hour or so to work, we could live somewhere considerably cheaper, at least in housing. My company is constantly hiring but they are usually looking for specific skills and degrees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanne Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 No, not here in the metro Houston area. I believe that ANY full time, legit job on the books should pay enough for one person to cover modest rent, utilities, car insurance, food, and that person should have access to healthcare. Add another adult working full time to the mix, and basic needs for kids should be covered as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted January 14, 2014 Author Share Posted January 14, 2014 The other issue here is that the jobs require 50-60-70 hours a week on a regular basis. yes, it gives you overtime but those who need daycare are hard pressed to find providers for super early/late hours and weekends and then pay a premium for that as well. It then also affects the health of the worker---exhaustion, lack of sleep, no time to exercise, no family time, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanne Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 The other issue here is that the jobs require 50-60-70 hours a week on a regular basis. yes, it gives you overtime but those who need daycare are hard pressed to find providers for super early/late hours and weekends and then pay a premium for that as well. It then also affects the health of the worker---exhaustion, lack of sleep, no time to exercise, no family time, etc. The above is huge. I worked a combination of 2-3 jobs (and a full time student role in the mix for part of it) for years (still do). The lack of self care and family intentionality is profound. I'm convinced that is the (main) reason I did not lose weight when the science indicates I should have. (google obesity and sleep). I've argued for years on this board that working hard is not a straight line to success and/or financial stability. And the American Dream? Not accessible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Sadly no. The government pays a living wage and there's a lot of government jobs here. The groceries are all unionized and they actually pay a living wage to most employees, but a lot of the other retail is not a living wage. Childcare is hard to make a living at. There are a lot of underemployed people, it seems as well. There was a "living wage" bill that passed, but the mayor vetoed it as a sop to Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart had bought properties and was planning to open their first stores here and they refused to come if the bill passed so the mayor vetoed it. I would personally rather they hadn't come. Somehow the Target up the street makes sense, but the Wal-Mart feels completely out of place to me. But whatever. My small town relatives were always aghast that we didn't have a Wal-Mart near us. I'm sure they're comforted now that we can buy things because they couldn't quite conceive of how you'd get by without a Wal-Mart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 No. People who work low wage jobs work more than one job and live with multiple roommates. It's been this way a long time. When I was a brand new public school teacher 24 years ago, I needed roommates. At that time, I had many students whose family income depended upon at least three jobs between the adult wage earners in the family. Older teen often contributed by helping with childcare or with income from their own jobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 No. People who work low wage jobs work more than one job and live with multiple roommates. It's been this way a long time. When I was a brand new public school teacher 24 years ago, I needed roommates. At that time, I had many students whose family income depended upon at least three jobs between the adult wage earners in the family. Older teen often contributed by helping with childcare or with income from their own jobs. I think the idea that a job should automatically be able to support four people is relatively recent. A few months back I was visiting my mom's hometown, and there was an article in the paper about former school teachers in the small town. It listed the teachers 60 years ago and discussed the families they lived with. Most of the new school teachers were boarders--with one bedroom in a local family's house, usually sharing a bathroom with those non-relatives and eating meals in the house. College educated school teachers weren't living on their own--much less supporting three other people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 I think we have more jobs that pay a living wage here than in a lot of places, though of course there are plenty of service jobs that pay minimum wage or slightly above. We have a large manufacturing sector here, and most of those jobs start at around fifteen bucks an hour for the entry level positions. We have a fairly low cost of living, being a smaller rural town, so while you're not going to live in a mansion and have a personal chef with that kind of pay, you'll be able to afford the basics without assistance. The extrusion company dh works for hires new, untrained employees for around that much, depending on the position, and provides benefits, annual raises, quarterly bonuses, programs that pay for tuition if you want to go back to school, etc. And that's not at all unusual around here. I think you have to pay people decently here and provide good benefits so people will be willing to put up with the winters. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 I don't know to be honest. I think it would very hard to live on min. wage or even close to min. wage anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 I think the idea that a job should automatically be able to support four people is relatively recent. A few months back I was visiting my mom's hometown, and there was an article in the paper about former school teachers in the small town. It listed the teachers 60 years ago and discussed the families they lived with. Most of the new school teachers were boarders--with one bedroom in a local family's house, usually sharing a bathroom with those non-relatives and eating meals in the house. College educated school teachers weren't living on their own--much less supporting three other people. Bear in mind though that many communities lacked apartment complexes or large houses that were divided into individual apartments until some point in the second half of the 20th century. I saved money as a graduate student by boarding in a house owned by a divorced woman who made extra income by renting out two bedrooms. We did our own cooking although we often did potluck together on the weekends when we were all around. In fact, I think renting out a bedroom to a boarder is becoming more common again, particularly among young unmarried professionals who have purchased a home. To answer the OP's question: Where I live, there are jobs that are quite lucrative--but they require specific skill sets and work experience. Often people move here to take these jobs. Those without an education are often in dead end positions, i.e. fast food or Walmart. Construction and landscaping work is picking up but workers are often at the whims of the weather and builders. One of our local banks that previously offered some decent jobs went through a merger that has resulted in fewer offices. Those that remained open have limited hours. What do these tellers do? Go home for lunch and a nap and then return to work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SadieMarie Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 No, not what you would consider blue collar or service jobs. I think two people both working full-time could support two children and it would be tight, but no way that one person could support four people. But I am also in a high cost housing area for the state, so it is harder in this community. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dory Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Teenagers at A&W can get $14/ hr in this town. Everyone is short staffed though so businesses tend to be willing to pay a fair amount for good workers. My sister was working as a waitress at a bar and grill and was making enough money to own her own house, wear nice clothes, and travel a little bit. She had to budget a little, but she was pretty comfy and that was a low end job. She couldn't raise a family on that, but she didn't need roommates to handle it all either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisbeth Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Yes, but the jobs I know about require higher education in tech fields or the equivalent in work experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2OandE Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 My girlfriend was abandoned by her spouse and he quit his job in order to not support them. She's been thrown back into the job market after five years out. She has a masters degree and cannot find work making more than $10 an hour. My brother was laid off 14 months ago. He's out every day looking. He applied to Taco Bell and they told him they are receiving 100 applications a week. He is essentially homeless since he no longer has unemployment. My mother is 100 percent supporting him including paying child support for his children. She's suppose to be retiring. The unemployment in there area is 12 percent. He is considering moving away from his children in order to support himself. He occasionally gets a temp contract but none that last more than a week. The companies in his area have gone from 95 percent full time to 60 percent temps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 I think the idea that a job should automatically be able to support four people is relatively recent. A few months back I was visiting my mom's hometown, and there was an article in the paper about former school teachers in the small town. It listed the teachers 60 years ago and discussed the families they lived with. Most of the new school teachers were boarders--with one bedroom in a local family's house, usually sharing a bathroom with those non-relatives and eating meals in the house. College educated school teachers weren't living on their own--much less supporting three other people. I don't think that anyone has the idea that any job should automatically support a family of 4. But I do think full time work should be enough to get someone housing and out of poverty. Which is simply not the case. It actually used to be much more feasible to support a family on a single income and to support a family on modest wages. Due to stagnating wages, loss of jobs to very low wage nations and a great many other factors, it is less doable now than ever before. Taxpayers are now shouldering many of the employment costs of private business through medical, childcare, food, housing and utility subsidies. The Two Income Trap by Elizabeth Warren documents a lot of interesting information about family security and buying power between the 1970s and 2003 (when the book was published). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 The other issue here is that the jobs require 50-60-70 hours a week on a regular basis. yes, it gives you overtime but those who need daycare are hard pressed to find providers for super early/late hours and weekends and then pay a premium for that as well. It then also affects the health of the worker---exhaustion, lack of sleep, no time to exercise, no family time, etc. There's a lot of the opposite problem around here -- lots of minimum wage retail and fast food jobs only offer 10 to 15 hours a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Around here, two people working full time at low-wage jobs can't support a family, so the answer to your question is no. Jobs around here pay minimum wage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIch elle Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 In fact, I think renting out a bedroom to a boarder is becoming more common again, particularly among young unmarried professionals who have purchased a home. My mother rented out my bedroom when I was away at college. When I came home (rarely), I had to sleep on the pull out chair in the small bedroom. My parents grew up during the depression so they knew how to save and spend their money (which wasn't much)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIch elle Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Here's one way to live on little money: How I live on $7,000 per year Here's another: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2014/01/12/exposed-the-mmm-familys-2013-spending/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 http://livingwage.mit.edu/ I used the above link and it really surprised me. For my county, a single person with a full time minimum wage job meets the definition of earning a living wage. But it jumps to over $17 an hour for 2 adults/2 children, so that's more difficult for unskilled workers to earn. But even then, if the two adults are both working minimum wage jobs they almost meet the living wage standard if they have 2 kids. There is a lot that goes into what constitutes a living wage, though. Cell phone? Internet access? Cable tv? No, probably not. The amount they listed for groceries for a family of four exceeds what I spent per month last year when we had four people here, but I'm sure working full time means more convenience foods...who has time to cook from scratch when dinnertime is the same time as when you walk in from a long day at work? (especially with 2 kids who need help with homework!) We live in a pretty low cost area except for winter heating bills. I can't imagine how much it might take to earn a living wage in high COL areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 My girlfriend was abandoned by her spouse and he quit his job in order to not support them. She's been thrown back into the job market after five years out. She has a masters degree and cannot find work making more than $10 an hour. My brother was laid off 14 months ago. He's out every day looking. He applied to Taco Bell and they told him they are receiving 100 applications a week. He is essentially homeless since he no longer has unemployment. My mother is 100 percent supporting him including paying child support for his children. She's suppose to be retiring. The unemployment in there area is 12 percent. He is considering moving away from his children in order to support himself. He occasionally gets a temp contract but none that last more than a week. The companies in his area have gone from 95 percent full time to 60 percent temps. THIS is so much of what we are seeing in our area. My dh was laid off for a long time and sent out 10+ applications a day. He has a college degree and is a journey man tool and die maker and a state and ASE certified mechanic, etc. He is educated but still couldn't find a job for a long time. 20+ years ago he was making $11/hour as an unskilled worker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 http://livingwage.mit.edu/ I used the above link and it really surprised me. For my county, a single person with a full time minimum wage job meets the definition of earning a living wage. But it jumps to over $17 an hour for 2 adults/2 children, so that's more difficult for unskilled workers to earn. But even then, if the two adults are both working minimum wage jobs they almost meet the living wage standard if they have 2 kids. There is a lot that goes into what constitutes a living wage, though. Cell phone? Internet access? Cable tv? No, probably not. The amount they listed for groceries for a family of four exceeds what I spent per month last year when we had four people here, but I'm sure working full time means more convenience foods...who has time to cook from scratch when dinnertime is the same time as when you walk in from a long day at work? (especially with 2 kids who need help with homework!) We live in a pretty low cost area except for winter heating bills. I can't imagine how much it might take to earn a living wage in high COL areas. Interesting site. Doesn't take into account many things we all think we need. Sigh. Cell phones, internet and cable. Wine. Clothes. Right now the things on my list that I really can't afford....new suits for two boys, groomer visit to get hair dog shaved, vet visit for hair dog.....hair cut for me.....oh and money for health insurance. My husband makes more than the living wage on this site and I get cs....we have no car payment and no mortgage. And we are always barely above water. I don't know how people make it with car payments and mortgages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erin Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Most jobs that are available in our area pay $9-11/hour, even for workers with a lot of skills---tool and die, automotive repair, store managers, etc. That is NOT a living wage. Skilled labor might make as much as $12-14 in my area. Yes, you can make do on a single income, but you will still qualify for assistance, even if you don't need it. It's tight. Even educated, skilled labor doesn't pay overly much. For example, my husband was recently offered a chance to run a local grain-handling facility. It's a multi-million dollar operation. They require about 10 years of experience and prefer a Bachelor's in ag, agri-biz, or something along those lines. Starting pay is $50K. He's currently making far more than that in the oil field, driving a truck and has a LOT less stress... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 I live in Mid -Michigan and the pay is too low for a single person to support a household...even a very austere household. Most of the jobs are minimum wage up to $10.00 and without speciality licensing plus a good amount of experience or a degree, these are not full time jobs. Paramedics only get 12.00 an hr. which is appalling when you consider the training and responsibility, but at least it is full time - 48 hrs. per week with options for overtime as well as being paid extra to do educational work such as career day in the schools, and the medical benefits are very good with reasonably priced premiums. The people making a middle class wage are county workers -and they haven't hired in years - degreed individuals in the sciences and tech, and medical. But only the medical fields that require a four year degree. Most of the hospitals have let their practical nurses go and hired Adn 's. The aides make barely more than minimum wage. Given that a high school diploma isn't worth the paper it's printed on due to rampant girded inflation and dumbing down standards, everything is moving towards needing a two year degree in something just to get entry level minimum wage work and four year degree in order to move up. IF one can get into DTE with a commercial electrical journeyman's license - absolutely no picnic to achieve and requires high reading comprehension and math skills - the pay is excellent. But they take hundreds of applications for one position they have open so the competition is cut throat. UPS which used to be an excellent employer has really cut back because the economy is so bad package deliveries are way down from what they used to be. At one point Michigan was losing 200 families per month. That has slowed some, but the reality is that there isn't much of a future here for young people. The average family in our area is one in which both parents work full time at low paying jobs but the combined income keeps them afloat. Meager...but given the draconian cuts that had to be made in every department or go bankrupt, it is much harder to get public assistance so meager is the word for how many families subsist here. It's also causing a brain drain because the kids who pursue higher education and difficult trades training promptly get jobs in other states. We really do not see a future for our own kids and we will most definitely not be retiring here. Also, Michigan is virtually devoid of public transportation and many areas are not safe for cycling or walking...I don't mean because of crime...but due to narrow roads, no shoulders, no walking or cycling paths, large trucks on roads that are too narrow for their loads, etc. so owning a car is pretty much a must. Since this is a no fault insurance state and the insurance lobby has a mighty strangle hold on the state legislature, it is extremely expensive. It can cost as much to insure a paid off, older model car with high deductibles as it does to rent a one bedroom apartment in our area. So it's really very hard on young people. Another reason they flee the state as soon as they can. Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 http://livingwage.mit.edu/ I used the above link and it really surprised me. For my county, a single person with a full time minimum wage job meets the definition of earning a living wage. But it jumps to over $17 an hour for 2 adults/2 children, so that's more difficult for unskilled workers to earn. But even then, if the two adults are both working minimum wage jobs they almost meet the living wage standard if they have 2 kids. There is a lot that goes into what constitutes a living wage, though. Cell phone? Internet access? Cable tv? No, probably not. The amount they listed for groceries for a family of four exceeds what I spent per month last year when we had four people here, but I'm sure working full time means more convenience foods...who has time to cook from scratch when dinnertime is the same time as when you walk in from a long day at work? (especially with 2 kids who need help with homework!) We live in a pretty low cost area except for winter heating bills. I can't imagine how much it might take to earn a living wage in high COL areas. This site also doesn't list any utilities. :/. Is that suppose to be included in housing? I have no mortgage but necessary utilities (water/trash/gas/electric) for the month of December totaled $400. That would leave me $300 for rent/mortgage. Hmm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroe1 Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Our panhandlers are raking in about $60,000 a year. Tommy Bahama waitresses, at least the one we know, is at $100,000/yr. On the other hand, most families have two incomes equalling wages about par for the rest of the country. The trick is to be lucky enough to find the good paying jobs. They are not always the professional ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 This site also doesn't list any utilities. :/. Is that suppose to be included in housing? I have no mortgage but necessary utilities (water/trash/gas/electric) for the month of December totaled $400. That would leave me $300 for rent/mortgage. Hmm. It has to include utilities with housing. 2/3 bedoom apartments here are $450 including utilities. My 3000 sf home is valued at $100,000 and that's high for around here. A starter home in our town is in the $30,000 range, so the numbers listed for 'housing' must include that. The utilities you listed above cost me $380 and like I said, I have a big, old house. It takes a lot to heat this place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Well I consider a living wage to be able to support one person. My son was able to support himself in a one bedroom apartment on 7.75 an hour and that was for about 36 hours a week. He also had to pay more taxes than someone who would have been older than him (a stupid loophole in the tax law that those under 25 can't get EIC and so actually pay income taxes). With that he paid rent, utilities, basic cell phone on a family plan with us, auto insurance, gas, food, and internet. He was able to save up to do some very cheap travel too. He didn't have to pay for a car but did pay for a few repairs. He now makes over 9.00 an hour and while he is no longer in an apartment since he didn't like that place and didn't want to sign another one year lease, he is paying rent to us which is probably about the same he would if he was in a roommate situation. He now has enough to do things like go out to cheap places to eat at times, buy things he wants, and now he has upgraded to a smart phone and pays for that still on the family plan. He will be making even more soon as he gets into a higher level of pharmacy tech. But this is not a typical working class job. We have lots of openings here for skilled people of lots of types. Like a saw an ad for the Toyota engine plant but you had to have experience to apply. That job started out at 14 an hour and seeing how well my son could live at 7.75, I think someone making 14 could probably support at least one person here. We don't seem to have a problem here with grown men not having jobs for extended lengths of time. There is a shortage of skilled people in this area for all sorts of jobs and there are decent places to live for just a bit more than my son was paying at his not so great place. I see small houses for rent in the one of the two best school districts in my city for 450 and 500 a month and the houses look in good repair and nice, just small. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanne Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Well I consider a living wage to be able to support one person. My son was able to support himself in a one bedroom apartment on 7.75 an hour and that was for about 36 hours a week. He also had to pay more taxes than someone who would have been older than him (a stupid loophole in the tax law that those under 25 can't get EIC and so actually pay income taxes). With that he paid rent, utilities, basic cell phone on a family plan with us, auto insurance, gas, food, and internet. He was able to save up to do some very cheap travel too. He didn't have to pay for a car but did pay for a few repairs. all. That is about $1100 before taxes every 4 weeks. I can't imagine a budget in a metro areas that would realistically fund all the things listed in your paragraph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 It did here in Huntsville, AL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 By your definition, I'd have to say "no" for my area in central MD. You CAN live on one income if you're talking about higher paying white collar jobs or skilled tradesmen who own their own business, but you need to be pulling in six figures to survive here and most people do that with two jobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Not unless you make at least 100,000. Even then, unless you have help (inheritance, no student loans) you are living in a small place, and probably struggling if you have children. COL is through the roof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 I think the question is too broad to answer meaningfully. My husband, who is nearing 50 and has 30-ish years of experience in his field, works a white-collar job and makes enough to support the four of us. It would support us comfortably, if we didn't have teens who have expensive interests. (I don't want to admit how much I spend on my son's dance classes and expenses each month.) Most of the people we know well are either professionals or instructors at one of the local colleges or the university. So, yes, there are jobs in our area that pay not only a living wage but a healthy one. However, we also have a ton of service-type jobs, none of which pay very well. I checked the living wage calculator site linked, and found that a single adult would need to work full time earning at least $10,50 per hour in order to support just himself or herself. Extrapolating from some information I found online, it looks like the median per-person income in our area is between $11 and $12 per hour. So, yes, in theory, if every adult in the household is working full time for at least that wage per hour, it should be possible to live here, as long as one is pretty frugal. I recently experimented with working a retail job again after a number of years off the market. I have a degree and a couple of decades of experience, both professional and in retail/customer service. Since my degree wasn't relevant to the job, and I didn't have recent experience, I was happy to be offered $8,50 an hour. For me, it wasn't a huge deal, because, while the money was certainly nice and definitely got spent, I was not attempting to support myself on that paycheck. What I learned, though, was that a lot of my co-workers really did depend on that as a primary or very significant portion of their income. We were forbidden to discuss or compare our individual pay rates, so I can't say for sure whether I was being paid more or less per hour than others in comparable positions. But I do know that many of my co-workers were frustrated that there were not enough hours to go around. People were hired hoping/assuming they would be working 25 - 30 hours per week (or more) and were keeping themselves available for whatever hours they would be scheduled, only to find themselves brought in for fewer than 20 hours per week. Some who simply couldn't afford to hang around twiddling their thumbs hoping to be scheduled more often tried getting second jobs, only to find that, once they were not fully available to be scheduled at management's whim, they got even fewer hours on the schedule at the first job. I used to look around me at the young, single moms and divorced women trying to get back on their feet and wonder how they were making it financially at all. For some of them, the job was a temporary thing, something to do while they were finishing school or while waiting for a partner to finish training or get promoted. But many of those folks were in retail for the long haul. They'd been in a series of similar jobs for a decade or more and had no real plan for moving on or moving up other than hoping to eventually work their way up the ladder to supervisory or management positions. My daughter is coming up on a year in her first "real" job. She is the youngest in her department and, because she lives at home, does not have the pressures that many of her co-workers face. However, she reports seeing the same kinds of things I observed in my recent retail excursion. Her department is made up largely of young adults (20 - 30 years old) who are juggling two or three part-time jobs trying to make their rent and cover basic expenses. They are almost all classified as part-time and sometimes seasonal employees, meaning their work schedules and even the number of hours they work vary widely from week to week, season to season. Those who can't make themselves available 24/7 often find they are dropped from the schedule entirely, since there are others desperate enough to snag any shift that is available. Although a degree is not required for these positions (entertainment), several of her co-workers are college graduates. Many have been doing this kind of job for some time. These positions offer no clear path for advancement, no way to "work your way up from the bottom." People simply stay in the job until they burn out, get injured or find something better. I have no hard evidence, but I suspect that there are many more folks in this area working these low-paying service jobs than there are in higher-paying professional positions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callie Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 This site also doesn't list any utilities. :/. Is that suppose to be included in housing? I have no mortgage but necessary utilities (water/trash/gas/electric) for the month of December totaled $400. That would leave me $300 for rent/mortgage. Hmm. The site is not accurate. It allowed my family $503 per month for housing. There is no way one can find housing and utilities for that amount. And if you keep scrolling there is a list of average wages for different jobs in your area. Nope not accurate at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 I live in Mid -Michigan and the pay is too low for a single person to support a household...even a very austere household. Most of the jobs are minimum wage up to $10.00 and without speciality licensing plus a good amount of experience or a degree, these are not full time jobs. Faith, you must live in a similar area here in Michigan. Just about everything you said fits from super low wages, to needing a car just to get anywhere, etc. Thankfully my dh's company is working with him well so far and he has a job that will support us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 No. We live in Central FL, so the bulk of the jobs here are agricultural or fast food. You have to drive at least an hour to get to any skilled workplaces. It is one of the biggest reasons why we are trying to move back to the Midwest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Nope. We're rather low COL here, but housing is higher than the market should allow for this economy and this region and pay starts off min wage almost everywhere here unless you drive an hour away or have a college degree (and even then, it's far lower than that degree is worth anywhere else). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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