Raising the minimum wage in Greensboro: Background facts and figures

• Raising the minimum wage in Greensboro provides an earnings boost to a substantial number of low-wage workers. Over 20, 000 minimum wage earners in Greensboro would get an immediate raise if the minimum wage were increased. According to the City of Greensboro Website a substantial portion of Greensboro is designated a poverty zone. It is referred to as North Carolina Development Zone Number 027. This zone contains a population of 98,614 as of the 2000 Census. The percentage of those below the poverty level is 20.02 percent, which represents 19,740 persons living in poverty.

• According to an article in the Greensboro News & Record, October 23, 2006, the city median household income adjusted for inflation dropped almost 21% between the 2000 -2005 censuses, American Community Survey. In 2005, the figure dropped from $46,459 in the 2000 Census to $36,733.00 in 2005. This is a drop of $10,000. This drop means that the typical Greensboro
  household income buy about 4/5 of what it did five (5) years ago, and many households earns much less than it did.

• Increasing the minimum wage does not result in fewer jobs for entry level workers. Usually there is no effect on the total number of jobs available. Studies at the Fiscal Policy Institute and the Economic Policy Institute found no measurable impact on job loss. The Federal minimum wage was last raised in September 1997. In a report by the Clinton Administrations National economic Council, “Since the 1996-97 increase in the minimum wage, the American economy and labor markets have continued to perform very strongly. In retail trade, which has a large concentration of minimum wage workers, there were 1.4 million new jobs.”
  

• Minimum wage workers are concentrated in service and retail jobs. 75% of the workers who would be affected by a minimum wage jobs:
  
  Occupations that include many minimum wage jobs:
  
  Food prep (not just waiters and waitresses, also counter workers, cooks)
  Sales/retail (service station attendants, convenience and grocery store clerks)
  Personal care and services (childcare, nursing and group home workers, etc.)
  Production workers (laundry, factory workers, dry cleaning, bakeries)
  Office/Administrative support
  Maintenance workers (building cleaning, groundskeepers, etc)
  Health care support workers, home health aides, visiting nurses, etc.)
  
  

• Minimum wage workers are not just college students and teens who need spending money. They are largely adult women, disproportionately people of color, and many of them rely on their earnings to support a family.
  

• A new poll indicates most Americans want a higher minimum wage. A poll by the non-partisan Pew Center indicates 82% of Americans favor a higher minimum wage, saying it was a priority.
  

• Increasing the minimum wage makes good economic sense. The proposed increase would inject more disposable income per year into our local economy. Workers would likely spend their increased earnings on food consumer goods. Increasing the earnings of low-wage workers will reduce the need for state and federally public assistance programs which are funded with taxpayer dollars. The increase in the Greensboro Minimum Wage is about fairness, opportunity, and the value that work provides.