Following mandates implemented in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States experienced a 40-year-high inflation spike, and gas prices hit an all-time high. As of this writing, it’s still more difficult to purchase a home than it was during the Great Depression, and yet there are still jobs that offer the same hourly wage today as they did in 2009.
At least that’s what TikToker @non1m0uz3 claims in a viral video that has gained over 12,000 likes on the popular social media platform.
In the clip, the TikToker keeps their camera recording a job posting of a Data Entry position. @non1m0uz3 that they worked this very same job, for the same exact pay 14 years prior. They sound exasperated and intimate in the clip that it’s because of job offers like this that there is still a labor shortage in the USA.
@non1m0uz3 #worklifebalance #nobodywantstowork #inflation2022 ♬ original sound – Nonymouse
“This job is one of the jobs that kind of kick-started my career on back in 2009,” they explain. “January 2009, was hired by the same company that posted this…and that’s 14 years ago.”
However, @non1m0uz3 claims the wage of $15-$16 an hour is the exact same as it was when they worked the role 14 years prior.
“14 years ago that was my salary. 14 years ago,” they continue. “Nobody wants to work, guys, because in 14 years, the exact same job, that was my salary… Like you’ve got to be kidding me.”
The job is located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and according to MIT’s Living Wage resource, a livable hourly wage one would have to maintain in the city for one adult with no children is $18.20/hr. That number goes up exponentially for single parents. According to Minnesota.gov, the state’s minimum hourly rate is currently set to $10.59 per hour.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @non1m0uz3 via TikTok comment for further information.
Some commenters on the post claimed that they work this same position and earn more money—and still feel like they are underpaid.
“I do this for 22/hr and I feel extremely underpaid,” one viewer wrote.
Others remarked that there are local fast food locations and other service jobs that manage to pay more money than this data entry job.
“I made more at my grocery store job,” one user stated.
“Even my local McDonald’s is up to like 18 by now,” another said.
