New Study Finds $15 Wage In New Jersey Will Cost 10k Teen Jobs

Miami and Trinity University Economists Find Total Job Loss Would Near 32,000
  • Publication Date: May 2018

WASHINGTON D.C. — Today, the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) released a new policy brief featuring an economic analysis by Drs. David Macpherson of Trinity University and William Even of Miami University which examines the effects should New Jersey increase its minimum wage to $15 per hour.

Following an empirical model developed by the Congressional Budget Office, the economists conclude that New Jersey would lose roughly 32,000 total jobs by 2024. Approximately 10,000 of those losses would impact young employees between 16 and 19 years old.

Read the full policy brief here.

The brief suggests that an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a better alternative to alleviating poverty. Currently, New Jersey offers a significant supplement to the federal EITC of 30 percent which effectively raises the minimum wage as high as $12 an hour.

This policy brief is in-line with recent economic minimum wage research on the effects of a $15 minimum wage. Researchers at the University of Washington discovered that Seattle’s minimum wage experiment actually reduced take-home pay for affected employees, after a loss of hours at work. A study released last December by the Employment Policies Institute found that California will lose 400,000 jobs by 2022 when $15 per hour minimum wage is fully phased in.

EPI has been chronicling specific stories of minimum wage consequences on its website Facesof15.com.

Employment Policies Institute managing director Michael Saltsman released the following statement:

New Jersey’s $15 minimum wage proposal is based on ideology, not proven economic research. The state should consider proposals such as expanding the EITC before mandating a disastrous minimum wage increase that will only worsen job prospects for teenagers and the less-experienced.

For more information, visit EPIOnline.org. To schedule an interview, contact Samantha Summers at (202) 463-7650 or summers@epionline.org.

The Employment Policies Institute is a nonprofit research organization dedicated to studying public policy issues surrounding employment growth. In particular, EPI focuses on issues that affect entry-level employment. EPI receives support from restaurants, foundations, and individuals.

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