Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect that raising the federal minimum wage, even by a relatively small amount, would lead to job losses.
About a third of business and financial economists surveyed in the past week as part of The Wall Street Journal’s monthly poll said an hourly minimum wage above the current level of $7.25 an hour but below $10 would cause job losses. Some 26% said employers would start to cut payrolls in the $10.01 to $13.00 range.
Still, the average appropriate level of the minimum wage among the economists who favor one was $10.83 an hour, significantly higher than the level today. Just under a third of survey respondents said there shouldn’t be a minimum wage at all.
Twelve percent of economists in the survey expected jobs would be lost in the $13.01 to $15.00 range, while 28% said jobs would only be lost once the minimum wage rises to a level above $15 an hour. Just under half of respondents in the latest monthly survey said raising the minimum wage would help lower-income households by putting more disposable income in their pockets. Read the full story (subscription required).
