Taking the business pulse on Iowa’s minimum wage
BUSINESS RECORD STAFF Nov 12, 2015 | 5:12 pm
2 min read time
409 wordsAll Latest News, Education, Retail and BusinessIowa is one of a minority of U.S. states with a minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, which is the federal minimum wage. So far, twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have passed laws raising their mandatory minimum wage to levels ranging from $7.50 to $9.47, according to Pew Research.
A largely Democratic attempt to raise Iowa’s minimum wage to $8.75 per hour failed in the Iowa Legislature earlier this year. In September, the Johnson County Board of Supervisors voted to raise the county’s minimum wage incrementally to $10.10 per hour by 2017.
Saying the Iowa City area has one of the highest cost-of-living levels in the state, the supervisors approved the increase for the entire county, except cities that specifically take action to approve a different minimum wage.
Minimum-wage earners work primarily in the retail, food service and personal service sectors; they are predominantly young and work part time, according to national labor statistics. However, the national population of wage earners who are paid between the legal minimum wage and $10.10 — so-called near minimum wage earners — includes more older workers, beyond teenagers working part-time jobs who predominate the ranks of minimum wage earners.
In fact, half of all Iowa female wage workers are making less than $15 an hour, said Iowa State University economist Peter Orazem.
The National Federation of Independent Business has opposed efforts to raise the minimum wage, saying it would force small business owners to cut workers’ hours. lay off workers or hire fewer people. However, it’s unclear whether small business owners are universally opposed to the idea of raising the minimum wage, according to The Washington Post.
The Business Record is surveying its readers to see how local business people stand on the issue. Read more below.
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The results of this survey could be featured in a future edition of the Business Record. |
SURVEY:
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How do Greater Des Moines business people feel about the issue? Take our quick survey to express your opinion.
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