In the USA, the minimum wage is established in accordance with the legislation of the municipal, regional and federal levels. Workers, in accordance with state regulations, cannot receive wages below the minimum.
What is he like now? At the moment, the minimum wage in the US is $ 7.25 per hour. There are no monthly indicators in America. They take into account the hourly and annual salaries. When working at a minimum rate of 5 days a week for 8 hours, the salary for 12 months will be $ 15,080. This is a little more than 900,000 rubles at the current rate.
Who is not guaranteed a minimum?
Unfortunately, not everyone can count on the required $ 7.25 per hour. There are categories of citizens to whom the minimum wage clause in the United States does not apply. Students, for example. Teenagers studying at a university or some other institution often find jobs in services, agriculture, and retail. There, salaries are usually more modest.
Also, the minimum is not provided to people with physical or mental disabilities, since the latter affect labor productivity.
And there is a whole list of professions for which the minimum wage in the USA per hour is not provided:
- Nannies and nurses.
- Federal investigators.
- Fisheries specialists.
- Manufacturers of wreaths at home.
- Limited edition couriers and newspaper workers.
- Agricultural workers of small farms.
- Telephone operators.
- Employees of entertainment facilities working seasonally.
In all these cases, the salary is considered individually.
Regional data
It is important to make a reservation that by state in the USA the minimum wage is different. Not everywhere, the rate is $ 7.25 per hour. In some regions it is higher, in others - lower.
The saddest minimum bets are in Georgia and Wyoming. There, payment per hour starts at $ 5.15.
Salaries of $ 7.25 and up to $ 8 are set for the following states: Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, North Dakota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas , Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin.
Citizens living in the following states can count on an hourly salary of between $ 8 and $ 9: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Illinois, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, South Dakota, West Virginia
Salaries from $ 9 to $ 10.5 are set for these states: California, Connecticut, Washington DC (maximum), Massachusetts, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
States with special laws
As you can see, not all regions have been listed. Because there are states in which their rules apply.
For example, in Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and South Carolina, the minimum wage threshold simply does not exist.
Minnesota and Nevada have more interesting rules. In the first state of the listed two minimums are established. $ 9 per hour for people working for a large employer, whose annual revenue is at least $ 500,000 per year. And the standard $ 7.25 for small business employees.
In Nevada, the western US state, the minimum wage per hour is $ 8.25 if the employer does not provide health insurance benefits. In the opposite case, this figure will be $ 7.25.
Conditions for young professionals
There are people who have already graduated in a specialty from a college or vocational school, but they have not yet turned 20 years old. For them in the United States, the minimum wage in 2017 is $ 4.25. But only the first 90 days of employment, and this is the maximum.
Then the rate necessarily rises to $ 5.85. Either when the required 90 days expire, or when the employee turns 20. There is already what comes first.
If you believe the research of authoritative American media, then today almost 20.6 million employees have a salary equal to the minimum wage in the United States in 2017. The lowest rates in the restaurant industry.
Profession and classification
Two factors that affect the minimum wage in the United States offered to people who have received the appropriate education.
In short, the most impressive salaries in America are set for aviation workers, medical professionals, managers, and computer technology professionals. Narrow doctors - therapists, anesthetists, surgeons, are especially in demand.
But the lowest salaries are received by service personnel, workers in the catering and service sectors. This is because the listed industries do not require people who want to work in them to have high qualifications, education and some special skills. Accordingly, the cost of such services is low.
Profession Indicators
Well, what is the minimum wage in the USA - clearly. Now I would like to draw attention to how much money in America is received on average by representatives of certain specialties. For example, you can take workers in various fields. Data is rounded; for convenience, salaries are indicated in monthly amounts:
- Cleaning service employees - $ 2,060 / 122,300 rubles.
- Gardeners - $ 2,255 / 134,000 p.
- Governesses - $ 2,435 / 145,000 p.
- Stylists, cosmetologists, makeup artists - $ 3,035 / 180,000 p.
- Secretaries and administrators - 3 105 $ / 185 000 r.
- Teachers - $ 3,560 / 210,500 p.
- Workers in the tourism and food industry - $ 3,565 / 211,000 p.
- Driver - $ 3,570 / 212,000 p.
- A real estate worker - $ 4,175 / 248,000 p.
- Repairmen and fitters - $ 4,195 / 250,000 p.
- Trade workers - $ 4,345 / 258,000 p.
- Advertising and PR specialists - $ 4,700 / 280,000 p.
- Banking employees - $ 4,985 / 296,000 p.
- Factory and factory workers - $ 5,250 / 312,000 p.
- Specialists in the field of economics - $ 5,720 / 340,000 p.
- Insurers - $ 5,860 / 348,000 p.
- Lawyers - $ 6,375 / $ 379,000
- Information Technology Specialists - $ 6,770 / 402,000 p.
- Employees of airlines and aviation industry - $ 7,245 / 430,000 p.
- Minerals - $ 8,840 / 525,000 p.
- The heads of enterprises - 9 980 $ / 593 000 p.
This, of course, is not the minimum wage in the United States, but the most common average, but it is impressive compared to Russian salaries. Especially in rubles.
Who has high salaries?
One who has received a good education in a popular specialty. This is who really lives well in America when you look at annual salaries:
- Therapist - $ 207,000 / 12,276,000 p.
- Orthodontist - $ 192,000 / 11,386,000 p.
- Lawyer - $ 162,000 / $ 9,607,000
- Veterinarian - $ 119,000 / 7,057,000 p.
- Financial expert - 103 000 $ / 6 125 000 p.
- Biochemists / biophysicists - $ 107,000 / $ 6,345,000
- Analyst Specialist - $ 95,000 / 5,633,000 p.
- Landscape architect - $ 81,000 / 4,810,000 p.
- Cartographer - $ 80,000 / 4,745,000 p.
- Fashion Designer - $ 76,000 / 4,507,000 p.
However, the list of highly paid professions is wider, but this list is enough for comparison. Many of the specialists listed above are in demand in Russia, too, but such salaries have not been established for them here. Which, of course, upsets.
Will there be a minimum more?
For many years now, the minimum wage in the United States has remained unchanged. In 2016, it also amounted to $ 7.25, and in 2015, and in 2014, and earlier, too. True, three years ago, in October, Barack Obama called in one of his speeches to increase the federal minimum wage to $ 10.10. Then the annual minimum wage would rise from $ 15,080 to $ 21,008.
This proposal was sharply criticized by the Republicans. The US Congressional Budget Office quickly made all the necessary miscalculations - it turned out that such a decision would affect the income of 16.5 million American workers (subject to indexation).
Indeed, the economic effects of increasing the minimum wage are highly controversial. Salary increases can affect the prices of services and goods, levels of employment, poverty, income inequality and, finally, the country's economic growth.
So far, no increases are expected.But all the same, the Congressional Budget Office shared data on how the level of people living below the poverty line could change if the minimum wage were raised to $ 10.10. According to their estimates, in 900,000 people, their material condition would have improved to an average.
Tax deduction
It will not be superfluous to mention him either. Everyone has heard about high American taxes, after which people do not have as much left from their salaries as they originally did. Indeed, the actual amounts received on hand are significantly less than those indicated in the contracts.
Each officially employed citizen must first pay the Federal Income Tax. It varies from 10% to 39.6% (depending on the salary level). In addition, old-age health insurance (1.45%) and social security tax (6.2%) must be paid.
And how much is left with $ 15,080 per annum? One percent of this amount is $ 150.8. Multiplying it by 17.65% (what happens after folding 10, 1.45 and 6.2%), we get ~ $ 2,661. This amount a person gives to the state. He has about $ 12,420 left in his hands. It turns out approximately $ 1,034 per stay per month. In the United States, the minimum wage after tax ceases to seem impressive, but even with it you can secure a good existence.
How to live at a minimum?
Now you can talk a little about prices. Since everyone is used to being equal in value to food, here are a few examples:
- A dozen eggs - $ 1.5 / 90 p.
- A kilogram of rice - 2 $ / 118 p.
- A pack of butter - $ 3.5 / 207 p.
- A liter of milk and a kilo of sugar - at $ 1/59 p.
- Macaroni (1 kg) - 1.5 $ / 90 p.
- A pack of custard coffee - $ 14/830 p.
- Tea bags - $ 2.5 / 148 p.
- Kilo of chicken - $ 5/297 p.
- Beef (1 kg) - 4.7 $ / 279 p.
- Whole chicken - $ 1.4 / 83 p.
- Fish fillet - $ 7/415 p.
- A kilogram of oranges - 1.5 $ / 90 p.
- Bread - from 1 to 4 $ / from 59 to 237 p. Depends on the species.
- A bottle of wine - $ 3/178 p.
- Distillery - $ 8/475 p.
So, in principle, you can eat meat every day, and at the same time, such a solution will not hit your pocket.
What about other areas that can be compared? Clothing. It is quite possible to afford new things every month for a minimum wage. Not branded, of course. In ordinary stores, blouses and shirts cost $ 30-35, jeans - $ 18-25, t-shirts - $ 12, hoodies - $ 45.
But the most important thing is, of course, real estate. Good for those who have it. But mostly in the United States, people rent housing. You can find both very cheap options and prohibitively expensive. The price depends on location (state, city and district), area and environment (repair, availability of a balcony, furniture, etc.). An example is Los Angeles. After all, this is one of the most expensive and, in combination, popular cities of the country. But even there you can find a modest cozy studio at a price of $ 500 per month.
So, in general, one can live on the minimum American salary as in Russia on the average. Especially if you have your own living space.