New Study: Minimum Wage Effects in Low-Wage Areas

Posted by University of California at Berkeley on July 9, 2019

Study Finds That $15 Minimum Wage Would Not Cost Jobs. Gradually raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024 would not create job loss in low-wage states, according to a new study from economists at University of California Berkeley’s Center on Wage and Employment Dynamics. More than seven states and 40 cities are phasing in $15 minimum wages, but previous research on state-level minimum wage policies did not extend beyond a $10 level. In studying 51 minimum wage increases in about 750 counties in 45 states, researchers did not find adverse effects on employment or hours worked among those with a high school degree or less – but they did find substantial declines in household poverty.