Raising the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour would make it difficult for many teens to get or maintain jobs, which adds to the job challenges they have faced during the pandemic, many economists say.
Democrats want to raise the federal minimum wage by steps to this level in 2025, from $ 7.25 per hour. Most states have already set a higher minimum wage. The plan would also eliminate a minimum wage for young people that allows companies to pay fewer teenagers during the first 90 days of work.
The changes would increase millions of workers and lift some of them out of poverty, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said in studies. But it has also found that some 1.4 million workers would lose their jobs over the next four years, many of them teenagers. “Young and less educated people would account for a disproportionate share of these reductions,” he said in a February report on the minimum wage proposal.
During the pandemic, teens experienced much higher unemployment rates than the total workforce. The unemployment rate for those aged 16 to 19 reached almost 32% in April 2020, more than double the pandemic peak, with an overall unemployment rate of 14.8%. Both rates have fallen, but teen unemployment remained very high, at 13.9% in February, compared to an overall unemployment rate of 6.2%.
Lauren Gimple, 17, worked at a bakery in Powell, Ohio, earning close to the minimum wage until the pandemic hit. Ohio’s salary is $ 8.80 per hour. He said he quit his job because some family members have compromised his immune system, a risk factor for developing severe Covid-19, but he aims to return when his family gets vaccinated.