10 Million People Just Got a Raise
Those earning the least earned a little bit more.
Stateline reported this week that between mid-2019 and mid-2023 workers in the lowest-paid industry, hospitality and leisure, had a higher percentage increase in wages than those in the highest-paid industries. In some states it was a lot higher.
“In 40 states, even those that haven’t raised their minimum wage beyond the $7.25 federal floor, the recent pay jumps outpaced those of earners in each state’s highest-paying industry, usually energy, technology or the federal government,” Stateline reported.
“The lowest-wage industry in every state is leisure and hospitality, a category that includes restaurants, bars and hotels,” the story said. “Those lowest-earning workers got bigger percentage raises than the highest earners, averaging a 29% boost between mid-2019 and mid-2023, a Stateline analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics quarterly data shows.”
In Oklahoma, leisure and hospitality workers gained 26.6% over the course of those four years, bringing the average wage to $443 per week. Workers in the highest-paid Oklahoma industry, energy, gained 3.7% in the same timeframe, bringing the average wage to $1,638 per week.
Inflation during those four years was 19%. The highest-paid industry in each state averaged a 20% pay increase in that time, while leisure and hospitality workers saw an average increase of 29%.
Twenty-two states raised their minimum wages on January 1, giving raises to 10 million workers. Oklahoma was not among them.
In seven states, the minimum wage is $15 per hour or more.
Proponents of State Question 832 are collecting signatures to put the question to voters. The proposal would raise Oklahoma’s minimum wage from the federal minimum, $7.25 per hour, to $15 per hour in 2029, then tie the state’s minimum wage to the cost-of-living index. The Oklahoma Supreme Court will meet this month to consider demands from The State Chamber and the Farm Bureau to halt the signature gathering, arguing that the proposition violates the state Constitution.
Oklahoma’s minimum wage hasn’t increased the minimum wage since 2010, when it went from $6.55 per hour to $7.25. The cumulative inflation rate for that period was 40.8%, so $7.25 in 2010 had the same buying power as $10.21 in 2023.
Oklahoma’s minimum wage for tipped employees is $3.63 per hour.
More worth reading:
Tribes Won’t Join Governor’s Task Force
Oklahoma’s largest tribes won’t join Gov. Kevin Stitt’s new task force on law enforcement and jurisdiction issues stemming from the U.S. Supreme Court’s McGirt ruling. [Oklahoma Voice]
Turnpike Authority Wants Stitt Back
The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority is planning to go to court over legislation passed last year that dilutes a governor’s power over appointments to the commission that oversees the agency. [The Oklahoman]
Chinese Migrants Lured to Oklahoma are Victims, Official Says
ndocumented Chinese nationals recruited on international websites to cross into the United States are becoming victims of labour and sex trafficking, often on illicit marijuana farms run by Mexican and Chinese syndicates in Oklahoma, the state’s top law enforcement official said on Wednesday. [Bangkok Post]
Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at the First Baptist Church North Tulsa on July 28, 1960. He spent the night at night at Tulsa attorney Amos Hall’s house, then spoke at Calvary Baptist Church in Oklahoma City on July 29.
Don’t expect to see First Watch on Monday, which is MLK Day, but delivery will resume on Tuesday morning. Enjoy the long weekend if you get one.
Ciao for now,
Ted Streuli
Executive Director, Oklahoma Watch
