With high school and college graduations, new employees are entering the workforce in the Philadelphia region, but only about half are likely to find jobs paying a living wage, write Joanne Drilling and Abigail Chachoute for the Philadelphia Business Journal.
Online lender NetCredit analyzed data from the MIT Living Wage Calculator and job postings from Indeed.com, examining the cost of living for a single adult without children in the nation’s 100 largest metro areas to determine what percentage of entry-level jobs paid a living wage in each market.
In Philadelphia, just 56 percent of advertised entry-level jobs offer a livable wage of around $25 an hour. The state’s minimum wage remains $7.25 an hour, unchanged since 2009.
The Democratic-led Pennsylvania House passed a bill earlier this month raising the minimum wage statewide, with the increase varying by county. Should the bill pass the Senate, Philadelphia’s minimum wage would rise to $15 an hour on January 1, 2026.
Housing is one of the largest and fastest-rising expenses, with average one-bedroom rent in the city at $1,750. For someone earning $15 an hour, that is over half their $2,600 monthly income.
Read more about entry-level jobs in the Philadelphia Business Journal.
