More than a hundred peer-reviewed economic studies have established that raising (or imposing) a minimum wage is correlated with increased unemployment.
The only studies purporting to show otherwise are those that occurred in unusual economic circumstances (such as in a “boom-town” situation where wages were naturally rising rapidly anyway).
The strong correlation between minimum-wage laws and unemployment is plain common sense: if there were NO correlation, IT WOULD BE IMMORAL NOT TO IMMEDIATELY DEMAND A $1,000-PER-HOUR (OR HIGHER) MINIMUM WAGE. Just think how many poor people could be lifted out of poverty if politicians wielded such power!
Now a new study has analyzed data from the recent rash of state governments that have raised their minimum wages; and the study compares those states to states whose governments did not raise minimum wages.
Results?
In 2013 High Minimum Wages Cost 747,700 Jobs: In 2013 a $1 increase in the minimum wage was associated with a 1.48 percent increase in the unemployment rate, which amounted to 747,700 jobs. States with minimum wages above the federal standard are lagging behind their counterparts by a full percentage point.
Read the study here.
