Analysis Debunks Claim That A Higher Minimum Wage Kills Job Growth

10/29/14
 
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from The Huffington Post,
7/10/14:

A higher minimum wage doesn’t have to kill jobs.

The 13 U.S. states that increased their minimum wages on January 1 saw higher employment growth, on average, than the states where the minimum wage didn’t change, according to an analysis by the Center for Economic Policy Research, a progressive think tank.

Four states passed laws to raise wages, while nine others had automatic wage increases pegged to inflation. The employment rate rose 0.99 percent, on average, in those states in the first five months of 2014, according to the CEPR. Employment rose by just 0.68 percent, on average, during that same period in the 37 states that didn’t raise wages.

These employment rate gains are the difference between the average employment rate during the first five months of 2014 and the average employment rate during the last five months of 2013.

The chart below shows the data, which builds on research first done by Goldman Sachs.

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