US here: I'm baffled by the assumption that every single job must pay enough for a 1BR apt. When I was 14, I worked in fast food, and never expected to be able to afford anything other than hobby dollars.

We have a shortage of totally-unskilled jobs that can support a family if both parents work, and that has translated into calls for things like increased minimum wage.

But there is not a shortage of jobs for those willing to put a year or two into trade training, and those often pay well enough to buy a home in a small town.

Many of the fastest growing jobs (bls.gov)[1] pay well over $10/hr and require little a priori skills.

Here you can make 2-4 times that with no education [2]

And here you can take 2 years of school to get a job that pays quite well[3]. Well enough to easily buy your own home and remain employed in a fast-growing sector for life. In some communities, those two years are paid for as long as you go to tech school in the same district you went to high-school in.

This minimum wage argument hides the real opportunities. Re-training and education is the key.

1. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/most-new-jobs.htm 2. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/occupation-finder.htm?pay=%2455%2C00... 3. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/occupation-finder.htm?pay=&education...