Highest Minimum-Wage State Washington Beats U.S. in Job Creation

[xchrom]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-05/washington-shows-highest-minimum-wage-state-beats-u-s-with-jobs.html

When Washington residents voted in 1998 to raise the state’s minimum wage and link it to the cost of living, opponents warned the measure would be a job-killer. The prediction hasn’t been borne out.

In the 15 years that followed, the state’s minimum wage climbed to $9.32 -- the highest in the country. Meanwhile job growth continued at an average 0.8 percent annual pace, 0.3 percentage point above the national rate. Payrolls at Washington’s restaurants and bars, portrayed as particularly vulnerable to higher wage costs, expanded by 21 percent. Poverty has trailed the U.S. level for at least seven years.

The debate is replaying on a national scale as Democrats led by President Barack Obama push for an increase in the $7.25-an-hour federal minimum, while opponents argue a raise would hurt those it’s intended to help by axing jobs for the lowest-skilled. Even if that proves true, Washington’s example shows that any such effects aren’t big enough to throw its economy and labor market off the tracks.


“It’s hard to see that the state of Washington has paid a heavy penalty for having a higher minimum wage than the rest of the country,” said Gary Burtless, an economist at Brookings Institution who formerly was at the U.S. Labor Department.

[steve2470]

1. k&r nt

[Scuba]

2. Makes sense that people having money to spend will boost the economy.

Money stashed in Swiss bank accounts, not so much.

[xchrom]

3. +1

[Scuba]

5. Two to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ChisolmTrailDem]

4. Minimum wage in Australia is in excess of $15.00/hr... McDonald's there pays

over $15/hr and doing just fine.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/08/the-magical-world-where-mcdonalds-pays-15-an-hour-its-australia/278313/

From Australia's Fair Work program:
http://www.fairwork.gov.au/pay/national-minimum-wage/Pages/default.aspx

[demigoddess]

7. exactly, big businesses

do just fine in other countries that have universal health care and higher minimum wages etc, then they complain they can't manage here in what they call the richest country in the world?? Doesn't make sense to me.

[liberal_at_heart]

6. Our minimum wage needs to be $15/hr. Our cost of living is pretty high.

People making $9/hr out here are at poverty level.

[The Masked Shrike]

8. No income tax

Take home wages are further increased in Washington state due to its having no state income tax! Fixing the economy is not hard, technically. Put more money into the hands of US consumers! Simply raise wages, and increase the cost of off shoring jobs. Tariffs, or taxes on capital leaving the country would create a huge bonanza of jobs and usher in a new golden age of economics similar to post WWII.

Politically, these things would be difficult, though not impossible to achieve.

[KansDem]

34. Thanks for your well-reasoned analysis.

And welcome to DU!

[WillyT]

9. HUGE K & R !!! - Thank You !!!

[HuckleB]

10. Kick!

OTH, having just been to Seattle, there is A LOT of construction! Everywhere. And yet there are many, many current spaces unfilled. I found it a little too 2006 for comfort.

[Matariki]

12. There are? I hear that studio apartments are going for 2k in some neighborhoods

Prices like that seem to indicate a bit of a housing shortage.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/search/apa?zoomToPosting=&catAbb=apa&query=capital+hill&minAsk=&maxAsk=&bedrooms=&housing_type=&excats=

[HuckleB]

13. What they're asking and what they're getting can often be two different things.

Walk around Seattle and look at the empty new spots.

They're empty. It's eerie.

[Matariki]

15. I live here. I don't think that's true.

What neighborhood were you in? It's hardly 'eerie' here.

I'm looking for current stats on vacancy rates - I'd be very surprised if they're higher than average. Folks I know looking for apartments have been expressing frustration regarding price and availability.

[HuckleB]

16. I was all over downtown, as well as Captol Hill.

The lack of people on the street and the distance one had to travel to get to any restaurant etc... was still fairly astounding. It still reminds me too much of any classic southern city. It's just not that walkable. Of course, the traffic was a nightmare. All over town. There are more people in cars than on the sidewalk and in the restaurants.

[Matariki]

18. Are you *sure* you were in Seattle?!?

That doesn't sound like the city I live in. Maybe parts of downtown at night? Or the suburbs?

Capital Hill, Ballard, Columbia City? Those are walking neighborhoods and hopping at night, especially on the weekends.

[HuckleB]

19. It's the city you live in...

Sorry to burst your bubble, but there are only a few bubbles in any of those areas where there are a regular crowd of people on the streets. I know Seattle wants to be something else, but it has a long, long way to go.

Pretending won't get you there.

[Matariki]

21. LOL

Are you from NYC? That would possibly explain, and excuse (sort of), the attitude. Otherwise I have to guess you were here for a night and you're suddenly an 'expert'

[HuckleB]

22. I've been there for a few weeks every year for more than two decades.

I'm sorry that the reality is different than what you want it to be. It's not a bad city. Don't get me wrong. It is a place that tries to portray itself as something that it has not yet achieved, however. Blind cheerleading is not likely to help the city get where you would like it to be.

PS: Both San Francisco and Portland have Seattle beat by far on these matters, and I'm sticking to the west coast with examples. NYC is not the only comparison.

[Matariki]

26. You're going on an odd tangent

from talking about your (incorrect) perception of vacancy rates to weird insults about what you think this city 'wants to be'. I don't get your point if you have one

[HuckleB]

28. I'm not the one on a tangent.

My perception was quite accurate, as you showed. Further, your data was not about downtown or Capitol Hill, specifically.

My point is that there seems to be some rather bizarre speculation happening in Seattle. It looks a lot like 2006. Everyone I know who lives there is wondering the same thing. So, why aren't you?

[Wounded Bear]

37. Rents are high...

but I think there is a big caveat. Wall Street is encroaching on rentals now. It's their next real estate bubble, I think.

We may be the test case. I hope I can survive until the bubble pops and rents go down a touch.

[Matariki]

23. Here we go - some statistics

"the vacancy rate rose to 4.6 percent in the fourth quarter, up from 4.4 percent in the third quarter"

National average last year was 4.2 percent in the third - so Seattle was *slightly* higher then the national average by 0.2 percent. Hardly ghost town statistics...

http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2022578166_apartmentrentsxml.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/01/us-usproperty-apartments-report-idUSBRE99004W20131001

[HuckleB]

25. No, not ghost town, but not justifying the construction that's there.

You certainly are a booster!

Go, Seattle! Fight and Win!



On edit, I'll add my post from above, just for fun:

I've been (in Seattle) for a few weeks every year for more than two decades.

I'm sorry that the reality is different than what you want it to be. It's not a bad city. Don't get me wrong. It is a place that tries to portray itself as something that it has not yet achieved, however. Blind cheerleading is not likely to help the city get where you would like it to be.

PS: Both San Francisco and Portland have Seattle beat by far on these matters, and I'm sticking to the west coast with examples. NYC is not the only comparison.

[Matariki]

27. I see

I post facts countering your wrong perception and your response is insults. Go you.

[HuckleB]

29. Your "facts" didn't counter anything, especially the vast amount of construction.

I offered no insults. Very strange.

[Matariki]

11. And we have a serious plenitude of restaurants and bars here

Streets crammed with them, and all full. On week nights. Go figure.

[HuckleB]

14. Seattle has spent a ton on hotels and convention space.

So, it's not unexpected.

Now, with new condos etc... going up, you could develop an actual neighborhood feel, though that's a long way off, still.

[Aristus]

17. Proud of the Evergreen State!

And the future Republic of Cascadia...

[Matariki]

20. +1

[Aristus]

30. Love it!

[Ron Obvious]

24. What a change

When I first moved here ('88), Washington State had the lowest minimum wage in the country: $2.70 or thereabouts, about 65 cents less than the federal minimum wage even.

I remember teacher jobs started at $17,000, and this was already no longer a very cheap place to live.

[LynneSin]

31. GOP tends to forget that if people make money then they spend it

How difficult is that to understand? Give people a decent salary then that money they make will flow back into the economy.

[Turbineguy]

32. It's all lies.

As any GOP emonocist can tell you. The economy grows when you take away people's ability to spend. There's proof somewhere.

[erpowers]

33. Benefits Outweigh the Costs

From what I am reading, the benefits far outweigh the cost. The only problem would come if the CBO study understates the negative impacts and overstates the positive impacts.

According to the study 500,000 people might lose their jobs, but $31 billion worth of economic activity will be put into the economy. In addition, $4+ billion dollars will be cut from food stamp expenditures due to the decrease in poverty.

[jtuck004]

35. Well, on one side of the state, anyway. In the second largest city not so rosy.

Spokane

Made Forbes Worst Cities to Get a Job In - http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/09/10/the-best-and-worst-cities-for-jobs-this-fall-2013/

Blue Ray Mfr Got Busted - http://www.inlander.com/spokane/the-wizard-of-spokane/Content?oid=2271516

Unemployment rate higher than nationwide - http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LAUMT534406000000004?data_tool=XGtable

It's like the old joke about if Bill Gates walks into a bar, everyone in there is a billionaire. On average.

Still, we have the mountains. Saw someone cleaning a deer in their driveway a while back. So we can still get food...

[Chakaconcarne]

36. There is a fairly big issue with the Seattle $15/hour min wage....

It is potentially going to hurt a lot of businesses... especially smaller restaurants. I think the $15/hour is more to support non-tip employees... Tipped employees in Seattle, at a small restaurant end up as 50K/per year jobs...and that is typically working less than full time. There are alot of restaurants in Seattle that are in panic mode. Imagine one day you are paying $9 hr and the next $15.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for raising minimum wage, but if we want this kind of thing to stick and spread, we have to support doing it right and not ad hoc. The businesses that will end up surviving are those with lots of discretionary income.. and we know who those are and I don't think I would want to see big business come in and replace some of these fabulous places to eat and drink.

[xchrom]

38. its sea-tac - not seattle.

and i think you over state the difficulties.

[Chakaconcarne]

40. Uh no...

It's Seattle.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/03/15-minimum-wage_n_4538302.html

and talk to the business owners first (as I have) before you claim I over state the difficulties.

[xchrom]

41. it's seatac

http://q13fox.com/2014/01/01/seatacs-15-minimum-wage-goes-into-effect/#axzz2vyh2pS2b

SEATAC — It’s the day many people have been waiting for. The minimum wage in the city of SeaTac was raised to 15 dollars an hour today. But not everyone is getting a pay hike.

The New Year is off to a good start for employees at the Holiday Inn Seattle Airport. Those making minimum wage are now getting a raise to 15 dollars an hour.

“It’s kind of nice. I wasn’t expecting it,” says Stephen Koistinen. “I mean I was happy without it. But I’ll be happier with a little bump, it’s nice.”

“It is nice, because I’m a college student,” adds Kiaarra Williams. “It helps pay for a lot of stuff.”



Read more: http://q13fox.com/2014/01/01/seatacs-15-minimum-wage-goes-into-effect/#ixzz2vyhFrb1B

Washington city votes to raise minimum wage to $15

http://money.cnn.com/2013/11/06/news/economy/minimum-wage-seatac-new-jersey/

It's a good day for low-wage workers in New Jersey and the city of SeaTac, Wash., after residents on Tuesday favored ballot measures that will raise the minimum wage.

The SeaTac initiative will raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour for hospitality and transportation workers in and near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The current minimum wage in Washington State is $9.19.

With all precincts counted, the 'Yes' vote was leading by 54% to 46%, but opponents say it is still too close to call. There are still uncounted votes, due to Washington's mail-in voting system.

SeaTac Proposition 1 also calls for paid sick leave and tip protection.

Voters in SeaTac, Wash., Back $15 Minimum Wage

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/27/us/voters-in-seatac-wash-back-15-minimum-wage.html?_r=0

SEATAC, Wash. — After weeks of ballot counting, elections officials said on Tuesday that voters in this small city south of Seattle had in fact approved by 77 votes the highest municipal minimum wage in the nation, $15 an hour, more than twice the federal minimum.

But the battle is not over. A group opposing the measure said it would immediately ask for a hand recount, and a lawsuit by business groups is still going forward in state court.

Labor union officials who focused on SeaTac as a template for wage battles yet to come around the country said the results would be a thunderbolt and a call to action. The vote means thousands of airport workers here, the host city to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, could see substantial pay raises starting next year. It also sets the stage, union organizers said, for a battle to advance a $15 wage in Seattle, where the mayor-elect, Ed Murray, has pledged support for the idea.

Washington already has the highest state minimum in the nation, at $9.19, but stands to be surpassed by California, which recently approved a $10 minimum, phased in over two years. The federal minimum is $7.25.

***seatac has done what seattle is so far only working on.
now washington state has a minimum wage of a little over $9 an hour AND their hiring is strong.

[redqueen]

39. K&R

[FarCenter]

42. Boeing, Amazon, Microsoft and others in Seattle are doing very well indeed.

Despite what some might say about their businesses, they are coining money and paying their Seattle-based employees well. There are also spinoffs and other high tech businesses in Seattle.

Minimum wage laws have nothing to do with Seattle's relative prosperity.