As I noted in my previous post, BC's general minimum wage is currently $8 per hour and was last adjusted in November 2001.

The BC Federation of Labour has been calling on the BC Government to eliminate the training wage ($6) and immediately increase BC's minimum wage to at least $10 per hour and index future increases to growth in inflation.

The BC NDP Party has also been calling for the minimum wage to be increased to $10 with future increases being indexed to the cost of living.

The Fraser Institute sees things differently. According to a January 2009 article, their number crunching concludes that an increase in BC's minimum wage to $10 per hour would result in job losses ranging from 11,000 jobs to 52,000 jobs for workers aged 15 to 24.

In light of a February 9, 2009 website update from the BC Ministry of Labour and Citizens' Services, the current minimum wage debate in BC may be somewhat overblown given the workforce realities:

• The average hourly wage for all workers in B.C. in December 2008 was $22.23 – more than 2.5 times the minimum wage and the third highest in Canada. (Statistics Canada – January 2009)

• The average hourly wage has increased by 23 per cent since 2001, when the average hourly wage was just $17.98. (Statistics Canada)

• The number of employees earning minimum wage or less in B.C. in 2008 dropped to 50,800, compared to 94,500 in 2001 - a 46% decrease. (Statistics Canada)