[US] How HR leaders can address living wage disparities

New research has revealed that a considerable percentage of workers in the US still don’t earn a living wage, with disparities particularly stark among workers of colour and women workers, HR Brew reports.

According to the recently published data, from Dayforce and the Living Wage Institute, just 56 per cent of full-time US workers earn a living wage. Half of full-time female workers do not earn a living wage, while 60 per cent of Black and Hispanic or Latino workers have earnings that are insufficient to cover their family’s basic needs.

Speaking to HR Brew, Jason Rahlan - VP of corporate responsibility and sustainability at Dayforce said, “Frankly, the results are startling.” He added that he hoped the research would be a “wake-up call” for businesses.

The reality that 44 per cent of full-time US workers don’t currently earn a living wage reflects “longer-term economic trends that we’re seeing,” Kavya Vaghul - chief product officer at the Living Wage Institute - said. 

For example, some of the fastest-growing jobs in the US are reportedly concentrated in sectors that tend towards hiring low-wage workers, such as retail, caregiving, and leisure and hospitality. According to the data, these industries also unsurprisingly showed the highest concentrations of workers not earning a living wage.

Despite some employers raising their hourly minimum wage to $15 or even $20 in recent years to compete for talent, “the challenge is that cost of living has increased at a fundamentally faster pace,” Ms Vaghul said.

Mr Rahlan directly connected workers’ wages and wellness; reportedly citing a separate survey that Dayforce conducted in partnership with SSRS. It found that employees making less than $50,000 a year were more likely to rank their overall health as “poor or very poor.” 

These respondents were also more likely to report experiencing certain mental health conditions, including anxiety (46 per cent), stress (32 per cent), and depression (32 per cent).

With the potential negative impact of inadequate wages on employee well-being, Mr Rahlan and Ms Vaghul told HR Brew that employers could benefit from analysing living wage trends among their workforces.

Source: HR Brew

(Links and quotes via original reporting)

New research has revealed that a considerable percentage of workers in the US still don’t earn a living wage, with disparities particularly stark among workers of colour and women workers, HR Brew reports.

According to the recently published data, from Dayforce and the Living Wage Institute, just 56 per cent of full-time US workers earn a living wage. Half of full-time female workers do not earn a living wage, while 60 per cent of Black and Hispanic or Latino workers have earnings that are insufficient to cover their family’s basic needs.

Speaking to HR Brew, Jason Rahlan - VP of corporate responsibility and sustainability at Dayforce said, “Frankly, the results are startling.” He added that he hoped the research would be a “wake-up call” for businesses.

The reality that 44 per cent of full-time US workers don’t currently earn a living wage reflects “longer-term economic trends that we’re seeing,” Kavya Vaghul - chief product officer at the Living Wage Institute - said. 

For example, some of the fastest-growing jobs in the US are reportedly concentrated in sectors that tend towards hiring low-wage workers, such as retail, caregiving, and leisure and hospitality. According to the data, these industries also unsurprisingly showed the highest concentrations of workers not earning a living wage.

Despite some employers raising their hourly minimum wage to $15 or even $20 in recent years to compete for talent, “the challenge is that cost of living has increased at a fundamentally faster pace,” Ms Vaghul said.

Mr Rahlan directly connected workers’ wages and wellness; reportedly citing a separate survey that Dayforce conducted in partnership with SSRS. It found that employees making less than $50,000 a year were more likely to rank their overall health as “poor or very poor.” 

These respondents were also more likely to report experiencing certain mental health conditions, including anxiety (46 per cent), stress (32 per cent), and depression (32 per cent).

With the potential negative impact of inadequate wages on employee well-being, Mr Rahlan and Ms Vaghul told HR Brew that employers could benefit from analysing living wage trends among their workforces.

Source: HR Brew

(Links and quotes via original reporting)