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

GURPS

INGSOC
PREMO Member
“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.”

Recession or no recession, Phil Kafarakis, President of the Specialty Food Association and former Chief Innovation & Member Advancement Officer at the National Restaurant Association, sees minimum wage hikes undermining job growth in the industry through 2020. “The minimum wage increases could have major ramifications for California restaurants and more broadly, the state’s economy,” says Kafarakis. “There are some 1.83 million restaurant jobs in the state (National Restaurant Association) that represent about 11% of California’s employment base. Given that labor is one of the restaurant industry’s biggest costs, there’s a real danger that the higher minimum wage will stifle job growth, currently projected at 9% through 2020 and adding 164,000 new jobs.”

Worse, Kafarakis sees “the implications to California reach beyond restaurant tables given that for every dollar spent in table-service restaurants provides a $2.03 impact to state revenue compared to the same dollar spent in limited-service outlets, that contribute $1.75 to state revenue per dollar spent.”


https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosm...tive-side-of-minimum-wage-hikes/#29002efd1468
 
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