What about teenagers and young adults with no work experience? They are the age groups with the highest levels of unemployment. https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/

What about teenagers and young adults with no work experience? They are the age groups with the highest levels of unemployment. https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cpseea10.htm https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cpseea10.htm In fact, very few people earn minimum wage past early adulthood. I don't remember where I got this figure but it was something like 93% of people over the age of 24 make higher than minimum wage. In any case, income is highly correlated with age until retirement ages. https://www.statista.com/statistics/233184/median-household-income-in-the-united-states-by-age/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/233184/median-household-... The motivation to earn skills to make more money is there regardless of minimum wage laws.