3-5-2014
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-...t-minimum-wage-state-beats-u-s-with-jobs.html
Highest Minimum-Wage State Washington Beats U.S. Job Growth
When Washington residents voted in 1998 to raise the states minimum wage and link it to the cost of living, opponents warned the measure would be a job-killer. The prediction hasnt been borne out.
In the 15 years that followed, the states minimum wage climbed to $9.32 -- the highest in the country. Meanwhile job growth continued at an average 0.8 percent annual pace, 0.3 percentage point above the national rate. Payrolls at Washingtons restaurants and bars, portrayed as particularly vulnerable to higher wage costs, expanded by 21 percent. Poverty has trailed the U.S. level for at least seven years.
The debate is replaying on a national scale as Democrats led by President Barack Obama push for an increase in the $7.25-an-hour federal minimum, while opponents argue a raise would hurt those its intended to help by axing jobs for the lowest-skilled.
The federal minimum-wage legislation is opposed by business groups such as the National Retail Federation, along with many Republicans, including House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-...t-minimum-wage-state-beats-u-s-with-jobs.html
Highest Minimum-Wage State Washington Beats U.S. Job Growth
When Washington residents voted in 1998 to raise the states minimum wage and link it to the cost of living, opponents warned the measure would be a job-killer. The prediction hasnt been borne out.
In the 15 years that followed, the states minimum wage climbed to $9.32 -- the highest in the country. Meanwhile job growth continued at an average 0.8 percent annual pace, 0.3 percentage point above the national rate. Payrolls at Washingtons restaurants and bars, portrayed as particularly vulnerable to higher wage costs, expanded by 21 percent. Poverty has trailed the U.S. level for at least seven years.
The debate is replaying on a national scale as Democrats led by President Barack Obama push for an increase in the $7.25-an-hour federal minimum, while opponents argue a raise would hurt those its intended to help by axing jobs for the lowest-skilled.
The federal minimum-wage legislation is opposed by business groups such as the National Retail Federation, along with many Republicans, including House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio.
