Orange County Living Wage has once again raised its numbers from 2023, setting this year’s rate at $16.60 an hour for hourly workers and $15.10 for employers who pay at least half of employees’ health insurance costs. Those marks stood at $15.85 and $14.35 last year.
Orange County Living Wage determines these figures by using the Universal Living Wage Formula, which in turn is based on standards from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. OCLW also uses the average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in a four-country area including Alamance, Chatham, Durham and Orange Counties.
“Someone earning $7.25 per hour will gross $15,080, if they work 40 hours a week all year. In this time of rising costs, it is completely insufficient,” says OCLW Director Susan Romaine. “A $16.60 hourly wage reflects the minimum wage necessary for workers to live close enough to our county to provide essential services like staffing our hospitals, schools, police and fire departments, grocery stores, restaurants, pharmacies, nonprofits, and more.”
Currently, OCLW’s roster includes 266 employers who have certified as paying full- and part-time employees — about 9,000 in all — the living wage. In 2022, 48 new employers were recognized for paying a living wage.
Since 2015, OCLW estimates the total amount wages have been raised to be $2.8 million, with more than $950,000 stemming from 2022 wage increases alone.
Featured image via Orange County Living Wage
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