Still Working Well: Washington's Minimum Wage and the Beginnings of Economic Recovery


 

Publication Date: January 2004

Publisher: Economic Opportunity Institute

Author(s): Marilyn P. Watkins

Research Area: Labor

Keywords: Cost of living; Minimum Wage; Inflation

Type: Fact sheet

Coverage: Washington

Abstract:

Reviews criticisms of Washington's groundbreaking minimum wage law, specifically refuting a suggested causal connection between the state's relatively high minimum wage and a higher than average unemployment rate. Offers statistical proof that Washington has lost jobs at a lower rate than the national average, and that those losses occurred in high-wage manufacturing sectors not impacted by increases in the minimum wage.