Posts Tagged ‘wages’
Minnesota Passes Wisconsin in Total Jobs
Total 2017 employment in Minnesota eclipsed that of Wisconsin for the first time in history,* despite having over 200,000 fewer people. Just ten years ago, Minnesota had 93,000 fewer jobs than Wisconsin. The Gopher State now has 6,200 more jobs, according to the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW).† In light of recent trends…
Read MoreMinnesota Still Outperforming “Right to Work” Wisconsin
For most of the last decade, earnings in Minnesota and Wisconsin grew at a similar pace—until 2015. In that year, Wisconsin adopted its so-called “right to work” (RTW) law. Since then, earnings growth in Wisconsin slowed relative to Minnesota. In 2017, the average hourly earnings gap between Minnesota and Wisconsin was 42% greater than it…
Read MoreHigher Wages Needed to Meet Basic Needs
Many Minnesota jobs do not pay enough to meet the basic needs of a typical Minnesota family, according to data from the “Minnesota Cost of Living Study Annual Report 2016” prepared by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). In fact, this report—which was summarized in part 1 of this series—reveals that in…
Read MoreMany Minnesota Jobs Don’t Meet Basic Needs
In parts of Minnesota, median wages are not sufficient to meet the basic needs of a typical family. Furthermore, in all regions of the state, there are likely a significant number of workers with wages that are not adequate to meet basic needs. These conclusions are based on information from the “Minnesota Cost of Living…
Read MoreMinnesota’s Working Poor Still Hurting
About a quarter of a million Minnesota workers had cause to celebrate earlier this week, as the state’s minimum wage increased. However, millions of workers in Minnesotans and other states are still stuck in low wage jobs that do not adequately compensate them for the essential work they do. While Minnesota workers are doing modestly…
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