Does today’s minimum wage hike mean fewer jobs?
The federal minimum wage hike went into effect today for the third straight year, raising the wage limit from $6.55 per hour to $7.25. In today’s economy where small businesses are struggling to remain afloat, does the minimum wage end up hurting the economy more than it helps? 2009 has already seen a net loss of 3.4 million jobs, and many economists fear what further government regulation of wages will do for the prospects of finding work for those who are unemployed. “My feeling is that increasing the minimum wage is going to put additional strain on the economy,” said Suzanne Clain, a professor at the Villanova School of Business. She predicts more job losses as a result of this latest wage increase due to further stress on already-small profit margins. According to Clain, states with the highest minimum wages suffered more job losses than those states with lower wage minimums during a three-month study conducted earlier this year. “Raising minimum wage rates will generally discoura
