I've heard the argument about shifting away from production and manufacturing, and that's a red herring. The issue isn't *what kind* of businesses there are. The issue is that more and more, the businesses that are here are huge monolithic organizations that streamline and eliminate jobs a thousand at a time to cut costs, which is to be expected. Businesses always want to cut costs. That's a way that you make more money. 
The problem is that there's not *enough* businesses of *any* type. The more businesses you have, the more jobs you're creating. The fewer regulations you have on businesses, the more businesses you'll have, and thus, the more jobs you'll have. You don't need a minimum wage to improve the standard of living, you need an environment that doesn't punch you in the face if you try to start your own business.