October 16, 2008
Wages in Deep Decline for Young Workers--Unions Can Help
by Ted Boettner
Over the last three decades West Virginia’s workforce has become much more educated. In 1979, approximately 11 percent of the labor force had a four-year degree and now (2007) almost 21 percent do. Having a higher education is usually associated with a rising living standard, especially among younger workers.
As the data below illustrates, the real median wage for those between ages 18-to-29 has fallen sharply since 1979. After adjusting for inflation, the median wage for a typical young worker was $3.31 less than it was in 1979, while older workers saw a drop of almost one dollar during this period. In other words, young workers have seen a 25 percent drop in their wages while workers between ages 30-to 64 only saw a drop of 6 percent.
While there are many factors contributing to the deep decline of young workers’ wages, whether or not they are in a union can be a big determinate in how much they make per hour. A new study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research found that young unionized workers in West Virginia made almost $4 more per hour than young non-union workers after adjusting for inflation. The study also found that young workers in unions were much more likely to have health insurance benefits and a pension plan.