CT Minimum Wage Workers Must Work 83 Hours to Make a Living Wage: Report

Written by Brian McCready

Another study confirms what many already know: People are working longer hours and still not making a living wage.

The Alliance For a Just Society released its annual report on living wages in the United States and analyzed all 50 states. The results, while not surprising, are concerning.

The report notes that the minimum wage, which ranges from $7.25 to as high as $10.50 in the District of Columbia, is not even close to affording individuals and families enough money to meet basic needs.

Nationwide, a single adult needs to earn $16.87 an hour or $35,087 annually for a living wage. But with the minimum wage at $7.25 an hour on average nationwide, a single adult would need to work 93.1 hours just to meet basic needs, the report concludes.

Even raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour would definitely help but for 35 states and the District of Columbia that wouldn’t even be enough money, the report states.

But in Connecticut, where the minimum wage is on the higher end at $9.15 an hour, we need to earn a lot more than $16.87 an hour to make ends meet.

In Connecticut, a living wage for a single adult means they must earn $19.03 an hour or $39,585 annually, which covers basic needs and includes a little money left over for emergency situations.

But the state’s minimum wage “provides less than half of a living wage for a single adult.” Or in other words, you would need to work 83.2 hours a week to earn enough money to live in Connecticut, the report concludes.

The living wage in Connecticut for a single adult with two children is $40.89 an hour. Connecticut’s minimum wage will increase to $10.10 on Jan. 1, 2017.

A single adult with one school age child needs to earn $28.99 an hour or $60,290.

If you have two adults, with one parent is working, and you have a toddler and a school age child you need to earn $35.01 an hour or $72,516 annually, the report states.

Other Notable Stats

In 2014, 4.56 million people worked in retail in the U.S. and made just $10.29 an hour.

Another 582,970 people worked in childcare and earned $9.48 an hour, and 3.13 million people worked in the fast food industry earning $8.85 an hour. Waiters and waitresses also earned $9.01 an hour, the report notes.

You can review data for all 50 states and other observations in the report here.

Photo by 401(K) 2013, via flickr creative commons