Tight U.S. Labor Market Makes $15 an Hour De Facto Minimum Wage

The push for a $15 federal minimum wage may have <-bsp-bb-link state="{"bbDocId":"QPTB08DWX2PT","_id":"0000017b-f58b-d68d-adff-f5cf7a5d0000","_type":"0000016b-944a-dc2b-ab6b-d57ba1cc0000"}">stalled in Congress, but Covid-19 is helping steer the U.S. ever closer toward a <-bsp-bb-link state="{"bbDocId":"QOS8N9T0AFB5","_id":"0000017b-f58b-d68d-adff-f5cf7a5d0001","_type":"0000016b-944a-dc2b-ab6b-d57ba1cc0000"}">key objective of labor unions and their allies in the White House and on Capitol Hill.

An analysis of jobs posted from spring 2019 to spring 2021 from a sampling of cities shows many service-sector industries crossed above a $15 starting wage during the period, often by significant margins, according to <-bsp-bb-link state="{"bbHref":"bbg://securities/1294503D%20US%20Equity","_id":"0000017b-f58b-d68d-adff-f5cf7a5f0000","_type":"0000016b-944a-dc2b-ab6b-d57ba1cc0000"}">Emsi Burning Glass, an analytics firm that tracks job postings to glean labor market insights. The trend seems to have gathered steam in ...