Emily Duprie
The minimum wage in the United States is no longer a living wage. Even though many states are paying more than this amount, minimum-wage earners continue to struggle to make ends meet. At $7.25, the federal minimum wage hasn’t kept up with the cost of living in more than half a century. One TikToker exposed an online job posting that was still offering the same pay rate… 14 years later.
TikTok creator non1m0uz3, discussed in his viral video how he had been surfing the Internet for job positions and came across a job posting for the position he had “kick started his career in” back in 2009. The job posting states that the pay for the spot is $15.00-$16.00 per hour.
“That was my salary 14 years ago,” he clarifies. He then brought up the ongoing discussion between Americans regarding how no one wants to work anymore. “Nobody wants to work guys,” he says in the clip, “because in 14 years, the exact same job… you’ve got to be kidding me.”
This TikToker spoke in his clip with exasperation and disbelief at the company, and with good reason. It is currently more difficult to buy a house in America than it was during the Great Depression. With inflation rising in every aspect except minimum wage, working class citizens are quickly falling behind in debt.
The job shown in the video is located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. According to MIT’s Living Wage resource, a livable hourly wage for one adult with no children is $18.20/hr. As expected, that number only goes up exponentially for single parents. According to Minnesota.gov, the state’s minimum hourly rate is currently set to $10.59 per hour. Keep that difference in mind when thinking about why it is Americans are complaining so much about not being paid enough. This user captioned his video: “#worklifebalance #nobodywantstowork #inflation2022.”
The TikTok of the former employee finding the same job listing for the same hourly rate 14 years later can be seen below.
His video ignited a conversation on minimum wages across the country. Some viewers discussed how they were working that job with a slightly higher pay and still felt cheated. Others discussed how their fast food and other generally lower-paying jobs were paying more than the Data Entry Specialist position listed in the video.
Commenters discussed in the comment section their personal stories with low and high minimum wages regarding their location.
