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The signs and banners are dotted along suburban commercial strips and hanging in shop windows and restaurants, evidence of a new desperation among America s service-industry employers: Now Hiring, $15 an hour.
It is hardly the official federal minimum wage at $7.25, that level hasn t been raised since 2009 but for many lower-skilled workers, $15 an hour has increasingly become a reality.
Businesses, particularly in the restaurant, retail and travel industries, have been offering a $15 wage to try to fill enough jobs to meet surging demand from consumers, millions of whom are now spending freely after a year in lockdown. And many of the unemployed, buoyed by stimulus checks and expanded jobless aid, feel able to hold out for higher pay.
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$15 wage becoming a norm as employers struggle to fill jobs
Steven Dyme, owner of Flowers for Dreams, poses for a portrait at his warehouse Friday, July 23, 2021, in Chicago. Dyme says the $15 minimum made it much easier to staff up when the economy reopened this spring and demand for flowers, particularly for weddings, soared. The company has four locations, including its headquarters in Chicago, one in Milwaukee, and two in Detroit. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
$15 wage becoming norm as employers struggle to fill jobs >Steven Dyme, owner of Flowers for Dreams, poses for a portrait at his warehouse Friday, July 23, 2021, in Chicago. Dyme says the $15 minimum made it much easier to staff up when the economy reopened this spring and demand for flowers, particularly for weddings, soared. The company has four locations, including its headquarters in Chicago, one in Milwaukee, and two in Detroit. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) Charles Rex Arbogast >Steven Dyme, owner of Flowers for Dreams, poses with employee Kevin Cervantes for a portrait at the company s warehouse Friday, July 23, 2021, in Chicago. Dyme says the $15 minimum made it much easier to staff up when the economy reopened this spring and demand for flowers, particularly for weddings, soared. The company has four locations, including its headquarters in Chicago, one in Milwaukee, and two in Detroit. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) Charles Rex Arbogast
$15 wage is the level many businesses must pay to fill their jobs, staffing companies say Updated: 10:46 PM CDT Jul 27, 2021 CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, Associated Press Share Updated: 10:46 PM CDT Jul 27, 2021
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Show Transcript It s argued that because the extended unemployment benefits kept people, they d rather stay home and not work than go to work. You don t think I did that. I I see no evidence that had any serious impact on it. But you can argue, let s assume it did is coming to an end.
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Pandemic could be what lifts wages to $15 per hour
Christopher Rugaber
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON The signs and banners are dotted along suburban commercial strips and hanging in shop windows and restaurants, evidence of a new desperation among America’s service-industry employers: “Now Hiring, $15 an hour.”
It is hardly the official federal minimum wage at $7.25, that level hasn’t been raised since 2009 but for many lower-skilled workers, $15 an hour has increasingly become a reality.
Businesses, particularly in the restaurant, retail and travel industries, have been offering a $15 wage to try to fill enough jobs to meet surging demand from consumers, millions of whom are now spending