Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Seattle’s “Economic Death Wish” Accelerates on January 1

Mark Perry reports:
Minimum wage earners in Seattle are getting another raise to kick off the new year. Starting on January 1, minimum wage workers at companies with more than 500 employees, which includes most fast food workers, will get an 18% bump in pay from $11 to $13 an hour. Small business employees will have a $12 guaranteed minimum, an increase of $1, and those that are tipped will get a $.50 base-pay raise bringing their minimum hourly wage to $10.50.

2016’s scheduled increase is a big ramp up for Seattle’s phased-in $15 an hour ordinance, which was passed in 2014. The law went into effect this April, bringing all minimum wages to $11 an hour except for tipped workers, who went to $10 an hour.

Anybody care to provide and over/under as to how many will lose their jobs because of the hike?

In 2015, when the first phase of the increased minimum wage kicked in, from January to June job losses for Seattle area restaurants (-1,300) were the largest since the Great Recession.




-RW

2 comments:

  1. 2650! That's my guess. Got to be an exponential curve. Slighly.

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  2. My guess is that it would be a similar loss the second time around. So probably another 1% or 1,300. My theory is that the business getting crushed by this are the ones trying to appeal to the middle of the market. High end restaurants will be fine, fast food will slowly start or continue automating but maintain employment through the interim. Middle class joints will make cuts immediately.

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