More on a minimum wage is just a minimum
October 23rd, 2012 at 11:00 am by David FarrarHere’s a pop quiz for you all. What percentage of 16 and 17 year olds who are in employment, are currently earning more than the minimum wage?
Guess to the nearest 10%.
UPDATE: The answer is 79% or roughly 80%. So only 20% of 16 and 17 year olds are in minimum wage jobs.
October 23rd, 2012 at 11:01 am
Is there a prize? If so, I guess 70%. If there isn’t a prize then I can’t be bothered responding.
Vote:October 23rd, 2012 at 11:03 am
I’m gonna say <10% so, 10%
Vote:October 23rd, 2012 at 11:05 am
At least half. 60%?
Vote:October 23rd, 2012 at 11:05 am
80%
Vote:October 23rd, 2012 at 11:15 am
90%. supplementary questions: what proportion of this 90% are earning more than $5/hr above the minimum wage. And of these 90%, how many are working at least 20 hours a week?
Vote:October 23rd, 2012 at 11:16 am
Easy game, 40%.
Vote:October 23rd, 2012 at 11:18 am
100%
(why not, it hadn’t gone yet
Vote:October 23rd, 2012 at 11:20 am
p.s. you may need to define minimum wage – what is the minimum wage of someone in their first 200 hours of employment? If there are a bunch of people on the adult minimum wage who could be being paid the starting out wage, do they count as earning more than the minimum wage?
Vote:October 23rd, 2012 at 11:32 am
50%
Vote:October 23rd, 2012 at 11:57 am
I’d hazard a guess at around 20% – since the scrapping of youth rates I would expect this figure to fall as I for one would rather hire an adult with life/work experience on minimum wage over someone who has probably decided to leave school early for the same cost.
Vote:October 23rd, 2012 at 12:15 pm
60%.
Vote:October 23rd, 2012 at 12:24 pm
No one has said this either. None to 10%
Vote:October 23rd, 2012 at 12:25 pm
viking2 that’s pretty much what I said!
Vote:October 23rd, 2012 at 12:41 pm
meh – you said 5%-15% (i.e. 10% to the nearest 10%), Viking2 is covering off the 0%-5% no-one else has yet said
Now all we need is someone to say 30% and DPF can tell us who won the trip the Vietnam.
Vote:October 23rd, 2012 at 12:44 pm
Looks like 30% is left for me
Vote:October 23rd, 2012 at 12:47 pm
My understanding is it is 79% or roughly 80%. For Graeme’s classification almost no one uses the current new entrants wage so this is about being paid over the adult minimum wage.
So when people go on about how the new starting out wage will impact 16 and 17 year olds, remember that 80% of them are not even in minimum wage jobs.
Vote:October 23rd, 2012 at 12:52 pm
be nice to know where you got that understanding from. David Shearer understands that there was a video made of a GCSB talk by the PM. Is your understanding similar to the other David’s?
[DPF: Treasury. I'm sure there is a document somewhere that refers to it]
Vote:October 23rd, 2012 at 2:07 pm
Is this like saying the age of consent is sixteen, but fear not, only a small percentage of over-fifties have sex with sixteen-years olds so people who are worried about sexual exploitation of the young are just over-reacting, because it’s legal after all.
Vote:October 23rd, 2012 at 2:19 pm
There’s that 20% tail again. But I’m sure there’s no correlation between the 20% not being paid more than the adult minimum wage and the 20% not achieving basic literacy and numeracy.
Vote:October 23rd, 2012 at 3:34 pm
I assume that it is the 13.50 ?, I also assume that it should be 100%
Book the same question in for next year
Vote:October 23rd, 2012 at 7:15 pm
What percentage of 16-17 year olds are on more than $1/hr more than the minimum wage?
Vote:October 24th, 2012 at 10:49 am
Ahhh, so most of their employers can give out more (most more than likely not more than a dollar or two above that) than the minimum….no need for the crackpot, manifestly unjust starting out wage then…straight to minimum or just above, as is currently happening.
Vote: