Before corona, it was around 12-13% in Australia compared to 8-9% in the US, 3-4% is a non-trivial difference. In rural areas it's worse (https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/youth-unemploym...), which is expected as even if minimum wage is set "properly" for the cities, where most people live, it may be relatively too high for rural areas where cost of living and wages are lower.

>Are people pursuing minimum wage jobs after graduating high school or university? Even high school graduates with no intention of pursuing higher schooling seem to pursue a vocation at something higher than minimum wage.

Not everybody is able to find a higher-paying job, that's why we still see people at age thirty working in checkouts or McDonalds. Try not to think of the average person; instead imagine the worst behaved, most disruptive, academically failing students at your high school, and consider what kind of jobs are available to them. It's the least hireable people that are affected by minimum wage laws, not anybody who's capable of getting a better job.

> Before corona, it was around 12-13% in Australia compared to 8-9% in the US, 3-4% is a non-trivial difference.

I was looking over the past 10-20 years (I have no idea how long Australia has had a high minimum wage...I figured that wasn't a recent development). Around 2008 the discrepancy had the US 10% higher.

> Not everybody is able to find a higher-paying job, that's why we still see people at age thirty working in checkouts or McDonalds.

I agree. What I had (incorrectly) drawn from your statement was graduating implied they were pursuing a field--not the average person. I just saw that the US has 44% working low-wage jobs.