Despite the recent minimum wage increase in Maryland, a new report from Oxfam America indicates that the adjustment may not be sufficient for many workers in the state. According to the report, over 500,000 workers, nearly 17% of Maryland's workforce, earn less than $17 per hour, with significant disparities observed among women, people of color, and single parents.
Kaitlyn Henderson, a senior researcher at Oxfam America, highlighted the contrast between Maryland and neighboring West Virginia. In West Virginia, 30% of workers earn below the $17 hourly mark. "The fact that people in neighboring West Virginia can have the exact same job as someone in Maryland but earn significantly less," Henderson explained, "and have a really hard time paying for the cost of living—even the most basic components—doesn't seem to make a lot of sense."
Despite Maryland's progress compared to some states, the disparities within its own borders are stark. Women in Maryland earn below $17 an hour at a rate of 19.6%, while the figure for people of color is 29.6%. The situation is even more challenging for single parents, with nearly 34% earning less than $17 per hour.
Henderson also addressed common misconceptions about low-wage workers. "There is such a common misconception that when we talk about low-wage workers, or even when we talk about minimum-wage workers, that these are high school students working an after-school job," she said. In reality, fewer than 13% of low-wage workers in Maryland are teenagers, suggesting that the issue affects a broader demographic.
The federal minimum wage has remained stagnant at $7.25 an hour since 2009, prompting calls for national legislation to increase wages across the board. According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Living Wage Calculator, a single adult in Maryland without children needs to earn nearly $25 an hour to live comfortably. The requirement increases dramatically for families; two working adults with two children each need to earn about $29 an hour.
Henderson reiterated her support for national changes to wage laws to help mitigate these disparities. By doing so, she argues, more workers across different states could enjoy the economic stability seen in places like Maryland, which has attempted to address wage issues more aggressively than many other regions.
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