California Is Beginning To Feel The Negative Side Of Minimum Wage Hikes

By Panos Mourdoukoutas. Excerpt:

"After Massachusetts and New York, California is beginning to experience the negative side of minimum wage hikes, too; job losses.

That’s according to a recent University of California Riverside study, which shows that California’s minimum wage hikes have slowed job growth in the state’s booming restaurant industry.


California was among the first states to launch minimum wage hikes towards the “living wage” of $15 per hour by 2022—a 50% hike over 2012.

“Data analysis suggests that while the restaurant industry in California has grown significantly as the minimum wage has increased, employment in the industry has grown more slowly than it would have without minimum wage hikes,” the study says. “The slower employment is nevertheless real for those workers who may have found a career in the industry.

The gloomy findings of the study are published at a time the US and the Californian economy are booming, near full-employment.

And the situation could become worse, according to the study. “When the next recession arrives, the higher real minimum wage could increase overall job losses within the economy and lead to a higher unemployment rate than would have been the case without the minimum wage increases.”

The gloomy findings of the study are published at a time the US and the Californian economy are booming, near full-employment.

And the situation could become worse, according to the study. “When the next recession arrives, the higher real minimum wage could increase overall job losses within the economy and lead to a higher unemployment rate than would have been the case without the minimum wage increases.

The gloomy findings of the study are published at a time the US and the Californian economy are booming, near full-employment.

And the situation could become worse, according to the study. “When the next recession arrives, the higher real minimum wage could increase overall job losses within the economy and lead to a higher unemployment rate than would have been the case without the minimum wage increases.”"