According to a Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. (LAEDC), the entry of Wal-Mart into the Southern California grocery business will produce a net increase in jobs. Several community and labor leaders have attempted to ban Wal-Mart Supercenters from the city because of the lower wages and benefits paid by Wal-Mart compared with unionized supermarkets. The LAEDC report found that increased consumer spending due to lower prices at Wal-Mart would offset any jobs lost because of lower wages.
The findings of the study were challenged by some economists who felt that there was already an excess of ?working poor? in Los Angeles and that a further reduction in wages and benefits would only add to the problem.
See Nancy Cleeland and Abigail Goldman, Los Angeles Times, January 27, 2004