Workers ‘earn less’ after min.-wage hike

A substantial boost in the minimum wage in Seattle actually hurt low-wage workers by reducing hours and income, a bombshell study found — raising concerns about the impact of New York’s decision to raise its wage.

Like New York, Seattle is steadily increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

The analysis, conducted by the University of Washington, said Seattle’s most recent increase to $13 per hour increased pay in lowwage jobs by 3 percent since 2014.

But the change also resulted in a 9 percent reduction in hours worked, leading to an overall 6 percent pay drop — offsetting the benefits of the pay hike.

The study estimated that the typical low-wage worker in that city lost $125 a month.

Analysts said the wage hike cost Seattle at least 5,000 jobs.

New York state’s minimum wage also goes to $15 by 2021. In New York City, it will reach that target on Dec. 31, 2018. The current minimum in the city is $11, increasing to $13 on Dec. 31.

Critics said the bad news shouldn’t come as a surprise

“This is what we predicted would happen in New York,” said Zach Hutchins, a spokesman for the Business Council of New York.

“That there would be fewer hours and fewer jobs around.”

He said the phased-in hikes approved by Gov. Cuomo and the Legislature last year — with the strong backing of labor unions — has led fast-food restaurants like McDonald’s to automate more jobs and reduce employment. Michael Saltsman of the probusiness Employment Policies Institute said, “The fight for $15 is colliding with economic reality in Seattle and San Francisco, with credible reports from top-notch economists demonstrating that wage hikes do indeed cost jobs . . . in short, there are no economic rationales for pursuing an extreme wage hike — only ideological ones.”

Cuomo’s office pointed out that different studies produced different results.

“Data from multiple sources over several years demonstrates that an increase in the minimum wage actually boosts job growth and supports the economy overall — the actual facts show this was the right thing to do for New York,” said spokesperson Abbey Fashouer.

A study released last week by University of California at Berkeley economists found the Seattle law raised pay without hurting jobs in that city’s restaurant industry. he Washington researchers defended their study as more comprehensive than prior ones, which mostly examined the impact on the restaurant industry or teens. The new study looked at the actual earnings of a wide range of low-wage workers in Seattle.

The fight for $15 is colliding with economic reality. — Michael Saltsman, of the Employment Policies Institute