According to University of Michigan economics professor Mark Perry, about 1,300 jobs have been cut in Seattle’s restaurant industry between January and June. Perry told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson that overall employment in Seattle has increased by about 1.2 percent since January.
And, outside of Seattle, food service jobs have increased by 3.2 percent. These findings provide “initial evidence that what is happening is due to the minimum wage ordinance.” Perry explained that the $15 minimum wage requirement has already had “some negative effects on jobs in the restaurant industry.” MyNorthwest.com,
“Not only are jobs in the food industry increasing elsewhere in the state and country, but they were increasing by about 4 percent per year in Seattle until the wage law took effect, Perry pointed out. Owning a restaurant is ‘very competitive,’ he explained. Restaurants run on thin margins, so when owners face increased labor costs, something is bound to suffer. In Seattle’s case, it’s the jobs themselves.
“‘That’s a huge burden that will translate into fewer jobs and restaurants,’ Perry said…
“‘The laws of economics are not optional, just like the laws of gravity or thermodynamics,’ Perry said. ‘Politicians can pretend they can circumvent [the laws], ignore them or suspend them, but the reality is they can’t suspend the laws of economics any more than they can the laws of gravity or thermodynamics.’”
As the New York Times has pointed out, not even proponents of minimum wage hikes dispute the fact that, at some point, increasing the minimum wage outweighs the economic benefits. The New York Times,
“Michael Reich, a professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley, whose work has bolstered the case for minimum wage increases, said in a recent interview that it would be disingenuous to suggest that the potential costs of raising the minimum could never outweigh the economic benefits. ‘We don’t know at what point that kicks in,’ he said. ‘We know that hasn’t happened at 50 percent or 55 percent.’ (Other minimum-wage scholars, like David Neumark of the University of California, Irvine, believe this happens much sooner.)”
According to University of Michigan economics professor Mark Perry, about 1,300 jobs have been cut in Seattle’s restaurant industry between January and June. Perry told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson that overall employment in Seattle has increased by about 1.2 percent since January.
Um, evidence of employment rising is not evidence of jobs being cut. In fact, it’s pretty much the opposite.
And, outside of Seattle, food service jobs have increased by 3.2 percent.
That’s nice. The unemployment rate statewide is about five percent, while the unemployment rate in the Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma area — the area with the very highest minimum wages — is less than four percent. Therefore, we expect more job growth outside of Seattle, because almost everyone in Seattle already has a job.
“Not only are jobs in the food industry increasing elsewhere in the state and country, but they were increasing by about 4 percent per year in Seattle until the wage law took effect, Perry pointed out.
A decrease in the rate of increase is also not evidence of an overall decline. Again, it’s pretty much the opposite.
“‘That’s a huge burden that will translate into fewer jobs and restaurants,’ Perry said…
At what point did he explain how the number of restaurants in Seattle has increased over the course of this year? Or did he simply ignore this primary evidence when he made his contra-factual inferences?
“‘The laws of economics are not optional, just like the laws of gravity or thermodynamics,’ Perry said. ‘Politicians can pretend they can circumvent [the laws], ignore them or suspend them, but the reality is they can’t suspend the laws of economics any more than they can the laws of gravity or thermodynamics.’”
What a pretentious blowhard. Physics is a hard science; economics, like psychology or sociology, makes general observations about how humans behave in certain limited circumstances. Humans have intelligence and free will; planets and particles do not. Let’s see what brilliant deductions we can make with economics:
1. The amount of land on the earth is finite.
2. The human population keeps growing.
3. Therefore, the Law of Supply and Demand says the price of land can never decrease.
With that in mind, I’ve got a great deal on real estate in Brooklyn for the good professor to consider.
tensor, you may have misread the article or, possibly, you lack the skills to understand the English language. What the author of the study said, was that while other areas of employment were increasing, the restaurant industry was losing jobs. That means he is clearly saying that his research, as an economics professor, has shown a link between the time frame of the implementation of the $15 minimum wage and the reduction of available jobs in the food services industry. This is not, as you said, a reduction in the rate of increase but, rather an actual numerical reduction. By the way, those 1,300 jobs are actual people who now don’t have a job! If you recall, in SeaTac, many news reports showed how workers were losing hours, benefits, free meals and parking, etc. so business owners could keep their businesses open. Many workers actually were worse off after the $15 minimum wage. I am sure that at least 1,300 people in Seattle now feel the same as SeaTac workers!
What the author of the study said, was that while other areas of employment were increasing, the restaurant industry was losing jobs.
I agree that he said this. However, he also said he’d based his claim on economic data, even though the data he cited do not, in fact, support his claim.
That means he is clearly saying that his research, as an economics professor, has shown a link between the time frame of the implementation of the $15 minimum wage and the reduction of available jobs in the food services industry.
Again, I agree he is saying this. Again, I note the data he cited does not support his statement.
By the way, those 1,300 jobs are actual people who now don’t have a job!
Or they moved to other jobs. Remember, the overall employment rate is rising.
If you recall, in SeaTac, many news reports…
No, those were blog posts at Shift, the Washington Policy Center, and other sites which already opposed the higher wages. Those blog posts repeated anonymous rumors about supposed losses of benefits.
I am sure that at least 1,300 people in Seattle now feel the same as SeaTac workers!
Please link to a news report which shows actual job losses in SeaTac. (If you do, you may want to tell Shift and the WPC about it, since neither site has yet to show a single job was lost in either city as a result of the increases in minimum wages.)