VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – If you’re making less than 20 dollars an hour, you’re not getting by, according to the latest study into how much you need to earn to make a “living wage” in Metro Vancouver.

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has found the living wage for a family of two working parents with young children is $19.62. That’s up almost 50 cents from last year, or 2.5 per cent, which is almost double the rate of inflation.

The report says increases in the cost of child care, transportation, and food costs are mainly responsible for the uptick.

The group argues that if there was more affordable housing and a universal publicly-funded chile care system or a national pharamacare or dental coverage program, employers wouldn’t have to pay so much to provide a living wage.

Researchers say the living wage only covers the basics, and doesn’t include things like paying off credit card debt and student loans, or saving for retirement or post-secondary education for the kids.