In the capital city of the coldest state in the nation, minimum wage earners continue to be frozen out from making enough money to meet their basic needs. Still, base pay recently increased in Alaska and will rise again in January 2016 to $9.75 an hour, nudging it closer to the living wage of $11.33 an hour needed by a single person to cover basic expenses in that state’s capital city, Anchorage.
The minimum wage is the lowest amount of compensation an employee must receive while performing a specific job. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour,
according to the Department of Labor.
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An employee is entitled to whichever is highest among the applicable state and federal minimum wage levels. Alaska voters in November 2014 approved a ballot question arranging for that state’s minimum wage to rise from $7.75 an hour to $8.75 an hour in February 2015 and then to $9.75 an hour on Jan. 1, 2016,
according to KTUU.com. That website indicated 16,000 Alaska jobs paid $8.75 an hour or less at the time of the February 2015 increase. Plans call for Alaska’s minimum wage to be adjusted annually for inflation after Jan. 1, 2016.
Vote Now: How Do You Feel About the Minimum Wage?
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology reports $11.33 an hour is the lowest wage at which subsistence needs can be met by a single person with no dependents in Anchorage, while $24.03 is the living age for an adult with one child. A living wage is the minimum income necessary for an individual to earn to meet his or her basic needs. Those needs differ based on marital status, number of children, debt, and other cost-of-living considerations. Living wages can include general benefits such as health and dental care.
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