Do minimum wage hikes affect teen employment more than adult employment?
Teens are disproportionately affected in a negative manner by a minimum wage increase. Mandated wage increases are proven to be vastly inefficient. Moreover, there is a general consensus that forced wage hikes lead entry-level employers to eliminate jobs or reduce work hours. Even if jobs are not cut, employers respond to higher labor costs by shifting their hiring focus to better skilled employees or more capital-intensive production, leaving the least skilled out — teens — of the labor market.
