Fast Food and Restaurant Jobs "Soar" After Seattle Raises Minimum Wage

According to the Forbes article, fast food and restaurant job applications and positions have "soared" since Seattle raised the minimum wage to $11. I know that some people are lobbying for minimum wage to be raised even higher to $15. From what I can tell, workers in this area see $11 as an opportunity to make better money than the previous minimum wage. But my question is, is $11 still enough to live on if you have rent, utilities, food, and family to support?

I guess I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. I keep reading articles about minimum wage type jobs will be gradually replaced by machines, automatic checkout, and even robotics type technology in the future. We already see this type of thing with "self checkout" machines and robots in hotels. According to studies, the only thing that might still need manpower in the future is the food prep aspect, but not the customer service. So does it make sense to incentivize people to rely on these types of jobs, rather than go for the types of jobs that will give them careers in the long run? I'm curious to hear what others think.

 

I think that you can "get by" on 11 an hour if you are working full time and have dual incomes in your family household. That's not to say you'd be living nicely. With the help of certain entitlement programs you can live relatively comfortably.

 

Before robots take over, people will be needed for these jobs and it's just fair that they get a raise because what they earned previously wasn't fair payment for the work they did. The wage raise, small though it is, is a step in the right direction.

 

I don't think people 'rely' on these jobs, they choose them because they are able to do them, they fit in with their lives, and it provides an income. Some people don't have a choice and these are the only jobs they can get. Not everyone can have a college education due to ability or finances, or even circumstances.

I think it goes to show people are willing to work as long as they get paid a decent wage. The minimum wage ensures workers aren't exploited as they often are in these industries.

 

I also think that this shows that people are willing, and do want to work but only as long as the pay is worthwhile. A lot of jobs in the past didn't pay enough for a person to be able to live off and in many cases, if they were living in welfare they would be better off.

Raising the minimum wage even further would be fair in my opinion for these types if jobs as in most cases they will only be part time jobs anyway and its very rare that a job of this nature will require a person to work more than 16 or 20 hours a week.

 

My take is that raising the minimum wage might actually hurt low-skilled or unskilled workers as fresh college grads and others with more experience start taking over. If you're between jobs or fresh out of college and a minimum wage job is your only option, you'd be a more attractive candidate on paper to a prospective employer than the kid in high school just getting into the workforce.

 

Actually most employers would choose the kid in high school because they know they will stay longer and will need the job. Those out of college will get better offers and leave and then the employers has to recruit all over again.

I once applied for a retail job I was over qualified for after University and I was told I didn't get the job because they knew I would not stay long and leave. They preferred someone who they knew would stay and who would not get other job offers.

 

This is so true. I know that is the case where I work. The boss hires people that he knows will stay rather then people who are just between jobs and are not going to stay. He usually hires older people rather then younger people who he knows will not be staying. $11 is not a lot to live on. I have done it in the past and got by but there was no extra money, just enough to survive. If it is a two income family then it would not be too bad.

 

You assume that all people want careers or are capable of pursuing one? I have met people that don't want careers, that just want a job to pay the bills and buy beer at the end of the week. Yes, unambitious people do exist.

People that work on the check out, many do it because it fits in with their life and they don't want a career, it's a means to make some money while they do other things like look after their family. There are many people who stay in the same job for years due to their ability or the fact they are content. I met someone who worked on the shop floor in a department store in the same job for 50 years, he never moved up and got promoted or looked for another job. He said he wasn't interested and just wanted any job.