Minimum Wages Falls Short

Susy Owen

Attorney

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A coalition of activists groups reported that in the Pacific Northwest, there is a shortage of jobs that pay enough money for people to live on. The regional analysis was released yesterday by the Northwest Federation of Community Organizations.

The study on Minimum wage was conducted with the use of 2005 data from both federal and state agencies. A living wage for a single adult in Montana was determined to be $9.83 per hour. In Idaho that number was $10.41, while Washington was $11.38 and Oregon was $11.16. However, the actual minimum wage in these states is a far cry from the above-listed numbers. They vary from $5.15 to $7.94 per hour. One thing is clear, minimum wage is not going up at the rate that the cost of living is increasing. If it had done so in the last few decades, the minimum wage would be in the $9.00 range today.