scorecard
  1. Home
  2. Politics
  3. US Minimum Wage Is Pretty Low Compared To Some Countries

US Minimum Wage Is Pretty Low Compared To Some Countries

Walter Hickey   

US Minimum Wage Is Pretty Low Compared To Some Countries

President Barack Obama proposed last night that the United States raise the minimum wage to $9.00 per hour.

While that may seem like a massive raise for low earners — the current minimum wage is $7.25 per hour — we learned that when accounting for the impact of inflation this would be far from the first time that the United States minimum wage exceeded $9.00 in 2012 dollars.

There's an even more comprehensive look at how the United States minimum wage stacks up, and that's by comparing it to other nations.

Take a look at how the minimum wage levels in member nations of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the economic club for rich countries:

Among OECD nations, every single country that pays a higher minimum wage than the U.S. pays upwards of $9.00 U.S. dollars per hour.

Australia, the nation with the best minimum compensation on the list, has a minimum wage equivalent to $15.75 in U.S. dollars.

Japan, which is the lowest paying country to beat the U.S. pays U.S. $9.16 per hour.

All told, the U.S. falls toward the bottom of the pack near Greece, Spain and Israel.

Watch Below: President Obama's Ambitious Plans For His Second Term

READ MORE ARTICLES ON



Popular Right Now



Advertisement