States with Higher Minimum Wage Boast Faster Job Growth

Adding fuel to the growing populist call for a higher minimum wage and throwing water on the conservative argument that fair pay will threaten employment, new data released Friday shows that states with higher wages are gaining more jobs.

According to an Associated Press analysis of the Labor Department's latest hiring statistics, in the 13 states that raised their minimum wage at the beginning of 2014, the number of jobs grew an average of 0.85 percent from January through June—compared with just 0.61 percent in the remaining states.

States with Higher Minimum Wage Boast Faster Job Growth

This is good news for everyone. Low wage earners put 100% of their earnings back into the economy, thus spuring growth that is much needed.

The Link

In the 13 states that boosted their minimums at the beginning of the year, the number of jobs grew an average of 0.85 percent from January through June. The average for the other 37 states was 0.61 percent.

WOW !!!

a whole 1/4 of 1% difference !!!

Good news yes, but what was the pay rates of the jobs that "increased" ?

And what kind of "jobs" were they ?

Interesting, but we need details to come to any accurate conclusions.

a reply to: xuenchen

The number of jobs haven't gone down have they?

So that blows the theory that "minimum wage increases lead to job loss" out of the water, or at the very least pokes another hole in it.

furthermore; It's surprising that you would care what kind of jobs they were, I don't recall anyone predicting that, are they ideal jobs? probably not, it's going to take a lot more political clout to do anything about that though when we have bipartisan support for free trade agreements, and a GOP dead-set against any large public infrastructure programs.

a reply to: NonsensicalUserName

A few cents an hour made that big a difference ?

Twelve of those states have seen job growth this year, while employment in Vermont has been flat. The number of jobs in Florida has risen 1.6 percent this year, the most of the 13 states with higher minimums. Its minimum rose to $7.93 an hour from $7.79 last year.

But job growth in the aging industrial state of Ohio was just 0.7 percent after its minimum rose to $7.95 from $7.85. The federal minimum wage is $7.25.

a reply to: xuenchen

Hmm.. so the benefits of that small increase make no difference?
is that what you're trying to suggest.

If that's the case I agree, merely I see it as testing the water with ones toe, in this case the water seems fine for bathing.

originally posted by: NonsensicalUserName
a reply to: xuenchen

Hmm.. so the benefits of that small increase make no difference?
is that what you're trying to suggest.

If that's the case I agree, merely I see it as testing the water with ones toe, in this case the water seems fine for bathing.

There's no proof at all that the meager increases in minimum wage fueled any job increases is there.

The OP article seems to forming conclusions based on wishful illusions.

If we can find all the details, we could analyze with reality.

I don't think that the 'marginal' increase is the point......I think the point is that all the opponents of raising the min wage scream that it will destroy the economy and overall decrease the number of jobs.........the aspect that in these states it has not destroyed the economy or reduced jobs, but had a marginal increase, says that maybe raising min wage isn't all that bad.

a reply to: FyreByrd
Increasing the minimum wage has a cumulative stimulus effect on the economy. A $1.00 increase in the base pay of a McDonald's worker, for instance, not only stimulates a revenue increase for McDonalds, but also for the many other businesses in the community, which sells that many more Big Macs. Price inflation, if any, is negligible and is accepted
by the public with little outcry. The bottom line is that the lower an economic stimulus targets, the more positive effect it has on growth. And then there is the matter of economic justice, but I don't need to make that obvious point.

How is inflation related to the increase in minimum wage and employment rates?

Please explain how pass-through costs of employers with employees earning more minimum wage help the economy as a whole?

We have one metric in this discussion. One. An economy is complex. To claim this action is helping things and at the same time disproving those who said it wouldn't is pretty hypocritical.

I have nothing against paying someone what their labor is fairly worth. Normally market forces should determine that but sometimes capital colludes to game that. IMO, it is OK for government to step in and even the playing field again.

Is that what is happening here? I doubt it. More like political pandering to the ill-informed.

a reply to: FyreByrd

From the article:

"Nine of the 13 states increased their minimum wages automatically in line with inflation."

Unfortunately for those earning minimum wages this doesn't make for a pay increase, it just means things remain status quo. Now if you could just get the administration to work a getting back to pre Obama gas prices they like everyone else would get a raise.

Double me up...

originally posted by: MarlinGrace
Double me up...

Sounds "inflationary".

originally posted by: xuenchen

originally posted by: MarlinGrace
Double me up...

Sounds "inflationary".

lol yep...

It funny being in business for as long as I have and dealing with business owners for 30 years. Labor is calculated by a percentage in our case and that percentage is watched ultra closely. This insures a consistent profit margin the owner can be happy with based on his initial investment. Everyone wants a ROI with their money higher than that you can get at a bank. Why else would you go through the risk and liability of owning a business if you didn't?

What this means is if your labor rate is 30% and the cost of labor rises to say 35% then the business makes less or the cost of goods goes up. Since when has anyone seen a cost of goods going down? Labor in business is an expense just like fuel. Accountants look at labor cost like any other cost to a balance sheet.

Why do people think raising labor cost aren't going to raise the cost of goods? I would think this isn't even arguable. The balance sheet doesn't list employees names just their cost. Liberals want it to be very personal, it isn't it business.

Well then making the minimum wage 40 dollars an hour should REALLY boost job numbers!

*sweet!*

originally posted by: beezzer
Well then making the minimum wage 40 dollars an hour should REALLY boost job numbers!

*sweet!*

And like you have said before...

if that would work, businesses would do it on their own.

a reply to: beezzer
In theory yes, they should boost the crap out of it, except in places where illegal immigration is high as hell. I wouldn't go as high as 40 an hour, but it needs to catch up a lot with inflation. Places without huge illegal populations stealing dollars and sending the majority back to mexico and south america, well the extra income goes into the community. People buy more stuff when they have extra money.

When most people are not even making enough to survive without government help, well then, none of their money is going into buying anything but the basic food, shelter, and communication. When people are too poor to pay for extras, companies go out of business because they can't sell enough of their stuff. More extra stuff sold means more jobs selling extra stuff sold. And if we can start taxing the hell out of imports, including communication imports like costumer service reps, then it will also bring in more jobs in manufacturing and customer service, and renevue back into jobs in the US. People in the western world cannot compete with 3rd world country slavery.

The only people making guaranteed bank these days, are companies that have held monopolies on the basics forever now. Lucky for me I am in the country and can bargain with farmers themselves for food, and grow, hunt, fish more. When you look more into who is making guaranteed bank off the necessities, and what they pay their employees, it's enough to make me sick. They outsource as much as they can to third world countries with impunity, while their profit margin is huge, they pay the people that make their products in china and india peanuts, and the people that sell their products here peanuts. And they are making bank bigtime.

a reply to: TKDRL

Like xuenchen said, before I asked the question; If raising minimum wage would be a boost for the economy, then businesses would be doing it without government dictating it.

Business is in the business of making money. Increasing the economy would enable business to make even more money. So if raising minimum wage does boost the economy, then why hasn't business been doing it for decades?

Answer; Because it doesn't boost the economy. It's a net loss for business. Raising minimum wage hurts business in the front end and in the back when they don't capitalize on their "investment" of raising wages.

a reply to: beezzer
Because they don't have to in the NWO economy, plain and simple. They make their products with slave labour in china and india, then can import them to wherever, USA, Europe, without any big taxes. There is a reason there used to be big import taxes, and a reason why the people that hold monopolies on the basic needs of humans lobbied hard for the tax free trade agreements.

Even just NAFTA messed it all up, think about it. Shoes are a basic need, so now shoe companies moved to mexico, why pay americans to make them at 15 and hour, when they can get mexicans to do it for 15 a week? And they still charge 100 bucks for a pair of shoes, that cost them less than 20 to make. It's not like they passed them savings on to us when they started outsourcing like crazy, did they?

Also quality has dropped bigtime! Back when I was a poor kid, I would get one new pair of shoes every 2 years, and they lasted. Now I am lucky if I can go half a year without shoes boots getting holes in them, and I was way more active in them when I was a kid, most time spent outdoors running around in the woods, after school day. Now all I really do is work! And they don't last nearly as long.

Same with jeans, used to last years, they end up as cutoff shorts after like half a year. Same with vehicles, electronics, frikken everything! My first computer lasted me over 10 years, when I upgraded the thing still worked, but was getting too old to run current windows. Now these days hardware breaks down in like a year, drivers are written nerfin good hardware to make you buy new hardware. IT's all a giant racket and I am getting sick of it.

a reply to: TKDRL

But wouldn't you think the "Slave" wage areas would be better off if businesses could make more profit in those areas ?

The "Slaves" would buy like crazy.

There are limits and lines.