US workers benefit as starting wages rise on tight labour market

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Data shows many service-sector industries have crossed above a $15 starting wage amid the recovery from the Covid recession

Workers sort apples at an orchard in Britton, Michigan, US, in this September 13 2021 file photo. Picture: BLOOMBERG/EMILY ELCONIN

The trend seems to have gathered steam in the recovery from the Covid recession, with several large employers, including Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and Chipotle Mexican Grill, bumping up starting or average hourly pay to $15 or more. Amazon.com recently announced it was boosting average starting wages for open logistics jobs to $18 an hour.

In Los Altos, California, Smith.ai, a 330-person business that handles customer support for companies, recently raised its starting wage to $15 an hour, purposely choosing that rate in part because of all the attention on the issue. “I think people are looking at $15 as the new normal, kind of the new standard,” says co-founder Aaron Lee. “As we bump up to $15, we see a lot more applicants.”The tight labour market has empowered workers to demand higher pay and improved conditions.

Employers that balk at the new pay rates are losing out, according to Culpepper, who owns four Express Employment Professionals offices in north Georgia. “A lot of them can’t do it, and so therefore they’re having labour shortages, which is affecting them getting product out the door,” he says. If it persists, the upward pressure on wages may wind up feeding into consumer price inflation, which is already trending higher because of a combination of supply bottlenecks and rising prices for a host of commodities. About half of small businesses reported raising prices since June, according to an August survey by the National Federation of Independent Business.

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