A recent study by the Center for Economic Policy and Research (CEPR) has found that, in states where the minimum wage was increased in 2014, there has been faster employment growth than in those where the minimum wage remained at its 2013 level.
The study, which updated a Goldman Sachs analysis to include data from April and May, showed the 13 states that increased their minimum wage on January 1, have had stronger job growth than the 37 states that did not.
The average change in payrolls in the 13 states that increased their minimum wages was 0.99% versus 0.68% in the other states.
While the CEPR noted they couldn’t establish causality between raising the minimum wage and payroll gains, the finding does “provide evidence against theoretical negative employment effects of minimum-wage increases.”
On January 1, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island, increased their minimum wage, while nine other states – Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington state, their minimum wage automatically increased in line with inflation at the beginning of the year.
So much for the critics who suggest that raising the minimum wage would kill jobs!
