Seattle's $15 Minimum Wage May Be Hurting Workers, Report Finds (usatoday.com)

As companies look for ways to cut costs, Seattle's $15 minimum wage law may be hurting hourly workers instead of helping them, according to a new report. From a USA Today article: A report (PDF) from the University of Washington (UW), found that when wages increased to $13 in 2016, some companies may have responded by cutting low-wage workers' hours. The study, which was funded in part by the city of Seattle, found that workers clocked 9 percent fewer hours on average, and earned $125 less each month after the most recent increase. "If you're a low-skilled worker with one of those jobs, $125 a month is a sizable amount of money," Mark Long, a UW public-policy professor and an author of the report told the Seattle Times. "It can be the difference between being able to pay your rent and not being able to pay your rent."

Comments

Re:This has already been proven bunk

[Train0987]

They aren't just working more hours, many have been laid off altogether while many small employers just closed and moved outside the city limits. For the restaurant/service industry there's also been an increase in the number of illegals hired and paid even less than before under the table.

Re: Typical...

[MightyMartian]

How many of them have these things? Go on, give me a percentage of people living in economic poverty who have these items. Surely you must have an actual statistic, right? I mean, you wouldn't just be making it up for effect, right?