Sunday, August 24, 2014

Seattle's $15/hour Minimum Wage - Early Results

The Washington Post reports on some early results of Seattle's passage of a $15,hour minimum wage in June this year:

"In Seattle, 42 percent of surveyed employers were ‘very likely’ to reduce the number of employees per shift or overall staffing levels as a direct consequence of the law. Similarly, 44 percent reported that they were’“very likely” to scale back on employees’ hours to help offset the increased cost of the law. That’s particularly bad news for the Seattle metro area, where the unemployment rate for 16- to 19-year-olds is already north of 30 percent — due in part to Washington state’s already-high minimum wage.

Perhaps most concerning about the $15 proposal is that some businesses anticipated going beyond an increase in prices or a reduction in staffing levels. More than 43 percent of respondents said it was ‘very likely’ they would limit future expansion in Seattle in response to the law. One in seven respondents is even “very likely” to close a current location in the city limits.
” (Emphasis added)

Perfect. Let's throw more people out of work! But it feels righteous saying you supported it, doesn't it? Welcome to the law of unintended (but predictable) consequences. 

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