According to Penn State University’s Living Wage Calculator, in Lee County, FL, a living wage is $9.24 per hour for a single adult, $17.13 for an adult with one child, $13.86 for two adults, $21.76 for two adults and one child, and $28.18 for two adults with two children.
Can someone seeking a job in Lee County find one that pays a living wage? Is the job situation improving in Lee County, Florida? A quick look at the jobs posted on the Employ Florida job site paints a discouraging picture.
From Jan. 23 through Jan. 27, 2012, a total of four part time and 30 full time jobs were listed. The vast majority were hourly. The pay rates ranged from $7.67 per hour to $19.00 per hour. The average was $11.85 per hour. Some of these required a high school diploma while others asked for a bachelor’s degree and several years of work experience. A very few had no educational requirement.
Only eight jobs showed an annual salary. These ranged from $24,000 ($11.54 per hour based on a 40 hour week) for an agriculture technician with no education or experience requirement to $65,000 for an aerospace engineer with a bachelor’s degree and three years of experience. The average wage was $36,875 ($17.72 per hour.)
With the unemployment rate still hovering near 10%, a mere 34 opportunities per week, with the majority not offering a living wage, are not going to improve the situation any time soon.
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