Is Seattle’s minimum wage costing jobs?
Jun 26, 2017, 5:57 AM
(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
A new report out Monday morning shows minimum wage workers in Seattle may be making more money, but the number of jobs available are shrinking.
The study might be surprising for those who supported the law put in place three years ago to boost minimum wage in Seattle.
The study said if the minimum wage law didn’t exist, there would 5,000 more lower paying jobs available right now.
Researchers at the University of Washington said because of the 2014 law gradually increasing the minimum wage to $15, employers have done everything from cutting jobs to slashing hours.
The report shows a jump from $11 to $13 dollars an hour last year hit many employers hard, and as a result of cutbacks, lower paid workers on average lost about $125 per month.
But there’s already a new study out Monday discounting the UW report.
The Economic Policy Institute says researchers used limited data and their analysis is biased.
