Document Type

White Paper

Publisher

University of Maine Bureau of Labor Education

Publication Date

Winter 1999

Publisher location

Orono, Maine

Abstract/ Summary

The current minimum wage of $5.15 is clearly inadequate to support any family — only a oneperson household can stay above the federal poverty guidelines on a full-time minimum wage job. The minimum wage will continue to decline in its real value, putting individuals, families and especially children at growing risk of poverty. This economic hardship is heightened by the fact that many of the new jobs being created in the U.S. economy are low-wage service jobs, often without benefits. With a growing consensus that a minimum wage increase is not likely to harm employment, there is overwhelming evidence that another increase in the minimum wage is a necessity both for Maine and in the U.S. more generally.

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publisher's version of the published document

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