Surprised? Minimum Wag Hike is Demolishing Restaurant Jobs in DC

Last month the city of Seattle hired a group of economists to determine what effect their minimum wage hike has had on workers. They found that at best, raising the minimum wage had a negligible effect, and at worst, it had reduced the average income of low wage workers. Now there’s evidence that Washington DC’s wage hike is also killing jobs.

Ever since the nation’s capitol implemented a higher minimum wage, the restaurants there have seen their worst employment numbers since 2001. Over the past six months, DC restaurants have lost 1,400 jobs, a 3% decrease. Though possibly a coincidence, restaurants are usually the first businesses to suffer whenever the minimum wage increases.

What’s more telling, is how the job market has improved for restaurants in surrounding areas that didn’t have a wage hike. Neighborhoods in Virginia and Maryland that lie just outside of DC, have gained 3,000 jobs in the same time period, a 1.6% increase.

And keep in mind that this is just beginning. Under legislation passed earlier this year, the city’s minimum wage is supposed to increase 70 cents per year until it hits $15 per hour in 2020. After that, there will be annual wage increases that are tied to inflation. By the end of the decade, Washington DC will probably be a deadzone for unskilled workers, who’ll have to commute to outside of the city to find jobs.

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