While it may be comforting to think that only teenagers living with their parents earn low wages, the reality is far different. Statistics Canada 2004 employment data from six Alberta communities gives a snapshot of the reality of low wages in the province:

• 258,900 workers, or slightly more than one out of every five workers in these communities, earned less than $10 per hour.
• Of those 258,900 workers earning less than $10 per hour, nearly half (124,000) are over the age of 25.
• Two-thirds of all low income workers over the age of 25 are female, showing a strong correlation between women and low income.

Numerous studies have shown that aboriginal workers, recent immigrants and visible minorities are far more likely than the general population to be in low-wage positions.

In 2002, 78,000 children under twelve years old, or 15 percent of all children in Alberta, lived in families living below the LICO and 99,350 children lived in lone-parent families.

Living wages allow working families, especially those with children, to earn enough to move out of poverty and enjoy an income closer to a realistic cost of living. However, the benefits of a living wage go much further than just the household:

Community impacts

• Higher wages positively affect communities by providing a better tax base to build healthy communities.
• Higher wages mean more disposable income to spend on consumer goods and services, supporting the local economy. This is especially true since people with marginal incomes are more likely to spend money locally.
• Reduced poverty is directly linked with reduced costs to our health care, education and social service systems.
• Living wages can have the impact of making communities safer through reductions in some kinds of crime.

Government impacts

• Higher wages provide greater positive incentives to work, often leading to a reduction in social assistance rates and a concurrent increase in the tax base.
• Low-wage workers may currently qualify for social assistance programs. Higher wages may enable greater self-sufficiency and reduce reliance on these programs.
• There is a positive correlation between income and health, meaning lower costs for providing health care.
• Higher wages may reduce some types of crime related to poverty, reducing policing and court costs.

Business impacts

• Higher wages have been shown to be related to higher worker productivity.
• Higher wages often mean longer terms of employment, meaning less staff turnover and a subsequent reduction in the costs of hiring and training new employees.
• Higher wages are correlated with better overall health, meaning fewer days lost to illness.
• Higher wage floors enacted through municipal or provincial legislation also mean that employers who wish to pay their employees a decent wage cannot be undercut by other employers who do not see the benefit of doing so.

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