What is the minimum wage job market like in L.A. right now? (Los Angeles: section 8, apartment)

[CJMac02]

I know that L.A. probably has enough people in it (lol) but I have just graduated and I am really considering moving to L.A. It's something that I've been thinking about on-and-off for a year, but I am very serious about this now. I have about two months worth of savings to get started on but I will absolutely need a job to cover anything past that. What is the job market like for minimum wage earners? The unemployment rate in L.A. is 7.5% so that is a bit scary for me but it's hard to tell whether that is because people actually can't find a job or if it's because they just don't want a job because they're working on-and-off in the industry or something.

What is your opinion?

[nightlysparrow]

Doing what?

[CJMac02]

Originally Posted by nightlysparrow

Doing what?

Retail, food service, etc. Basically any 'starter job.'

[JohnG72]

Serious answer...

Min wage is something like $9-9.50 per hour.

Its difficult to find a room for rent at $500 and any lower is non existent. Most, esp in the SFV which used to be very easy to find rooms for rent due to large home sizes and relatively low cost, now rent at $700-800/mo.

On min wage you will take home $1000/Mo full time if you are lucky. As a single filer, on a wage of as low as around $11K you start paying fed and state taxes.

So the simple answer is that you cannot afford to live in Los Angeles area on minimum wage. You may ask how do others do it? The answer is there is another wage earner in the family or they simply live with family members.

Oh, and two months expenses is not nearly enough. Get some job experience in your degree field and consider moving in a few years when you can get a better paying job requiring specific experience.

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by JohnG72

Serious answer...

Min wage is something like $9-9.50 per hour.

Its difficult to find a room for rent at $500 and any lower is non existent. Most, esp in the SFV which used to be very easy to find rooms for rent due to large home sizes and relatively low cost, now rent at $700-800/mo.

On min wage you will take home $1000/Mo full time if you are lucky. As a single filer, on a wage of as low as around $11K you start paying fed and state taxes.

So the simple answer is that you cannot afford to live in Los Angeles area on minimum wage. You may ask how do others do it? The answer is there is another wage earner in the family or they simply live with family members.

Oh, and two months expenses is not nearly enough. Get some job experience in your degree field and consider moving in a few years when you can get a better paying job requiring specific experience.

This is all good advice but OP will probably come out regardless and then be posting here in a few months complaining about having to sleep in their car and asking how to qualify for section 8 and welfare like many other posters here

[manteca man]

Did the OP from high school or college/university? If the latter, what field of study?

[Rkstar71]

The job market is a hot mess out here. The truth of the matter is that wages are so low because those who never bothered to learn to speak English tell employers they will work for anything they're willing to pay them, thus, driving down wages.

For example, if I'm used to getting $17/hr for roofing in the eastern US and I come to L.A. expecting the same, not gonna happen. Why should the employer pay me $15/hr to do the job correctly when he can get a non English speaker to do the job wrong for $8/hr under-the-table?
It's almost the same with the service industry. Even if you do by some miracle manage to pull in more than minimum wage, rents here are EXPENSIVE.

If I were you, i would stay where you are and get a degree in the health field. Work for a couple years for experience and then, come to L.A.

[TomFalater]

To answer your question, you can easily get a minimum wage job in L.A. If you present yourself well you'll be hired the same day.

The problem is that rent is very high. A one bedroom apartment goes for at least $1,000 and to move in you'll need first, last, and deposit.

If you're unskilled and need a higher paying job fast I suggest getting your commercial driver's license and driving an airport shuttle, a bus, or limo. That's a quick way to up your pay and there's plenty of those jobs available. Shuttle drivers will make about $20 an hour. Limo drivers can make $200 a day or so, depending on tips and clients.

Tom Falater

[theraven24]

OP, as others have stated already, one cannot survive on minimum wage on their own in Los Angeles. You'll need a roommate or at least make twice as much as minimum wage.

[JohnG72]

Oh and for anyone who thinks a $15 minimum wage will help...

1.) good luck getting a min wage job at that point

2.) if you think rents are high now, just wait until every working couple makes a minimum of $60k a year.....