Mixed Results in U.S. Study of Increasing Minimum Wage
The Congressional Budget Office released a report on Thursday which details the possible effects of raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour as suggested by various Democrats including President Obama. The results are mixed, finding that between one million and a statistically insignificant number of jobs may go away as a result of employers reducing payrolls, but also that 16.5 million workers would earn more as a direct result. The report also predicts that approximately 900,000 families would be moved above the poverty line, meaning the potential for federal and state governments to spend less on social welfare programs. Republicans have used the findings to support claims that raising the minimum wage would damage the already weak economy. Some experts have argued that while the relative cost of hiring another employee would go up, aggregated demand would also rise as a result of the increase in wages for those who would be employed, thus strengthening the economy.
See "Mixed Results in U.S. Study of Increasing Minimum Wage", Annie Lowrey, The New York Times, February 18, 2014