Starting this week, Florida’s minimum wage will rise by one dollar per hour.
The pay increase to $12 an hour comes after Florida voters approved a $1 an hour pay increase per year until the minimum wage reaches $15 an hour.
The ballot initiative was passed before to the pandemic and inflation, but the salary rise isn’t even close to keeping up with the rate of inflation in the Tampa region since 2021.
According to Steve Meyer, CEO of CareerSource Pinellas, despite the income raise, some families are priced out of living here.
“Even with the minimum wage increase, it’s still not what we call a living wage here in Pinellas County,” said Meyer.
“In the Sun Coast region, the median wage for families is about $60,000. United Way has indicated for a family of four to live comfortably, you need about $80,000 and that doesn’t even take into account child-care and transportation barriers.”
According to CareerSource Pinellas, between 30 and 50 percent of families are “housing constrained,” which means that a significant percentage of their income is spent on housing.
With increasing rent and property rates, several families can no longer afford to live in the Bay Area. The Tampa Bay Region saw 7.3% inflation during the last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.