Many workers are off today to celebrate Labor Day in the state of Alabama. But as prices of gas and groceries increase, those who work for minimum wage might want to take advantage of the extra hours.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, and Alabama operates under that federal pay floor because it does not have its own minimum wage law.
Many businesses in Alabama have struggled to find workers, leading to an organic increase in the amount employers are willing to pay for the help they can get. In fact, the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) ranks Alabama as the state with the sixth-lowest labor participation rate in the country.
Alabama Department of Labor communications director Tara Hutchinson told 1819 News last week that the reasons behind the shortage include a large Boomer population, a large population of people who are disabled, child care challenges, a lack of infrastructure and a lack of employment opportunities in select areas of the state.
Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison (D-Birmingham) said child care is a big factor in why people in her district are unable to work. She supports a state minimum wage that would be higher than the federal minimum wage and believes if people were paid more, they would have a better quality of life by being able to spend more time with family and less time working multiple jobs.
"They can't afford to work," said Coleman-Madison. "I think everybody wants to work. Everybody wants to have...
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