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A widely publicized article by economist Mark Perry declared that in the first half of 2015, Seattle restaurants had their single greatest job loss numbers since the Great Depression.
"However, the same reporting agency whose statistics Perry quoted in his article just released their most recent job statistics and it turns out that his fear of Great Depression levels of unemployment crippling Seattle due to their minimum wage hike were perhaps a bit overdramatic.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is now reporting that restaurants in Seattle have just posted their largest overall jobs gain in history with more than 2,500 jobs added in the last month, as well as an overall two month gain of more than 3,700 jobs."
I doubt they hired 2,500 cooks. Aren't most restsurant workers excluded from minimum wage, given the majority of their income is derived from tips?
Some states allow employers to pay tipped employees a lower minimum wage, Washington law does not. In Washington, tipped employees are entitled to the full minimum wage for every hour worked.
Thanks for the info, appears my line of thinking was incorrect.
Quote:
Originally Posted by detshen
Some states allow employers to pay tipped employees a lower minimum wage, Washington law does not. In Washington, tipped employees are entitled to the full minimum wage for every hour worked.
The jobs were created in an area with maybe 5 million people. The minimum wage only affects Seattle proper. Maybe 500k people and is phased in over five years. Don't get too excited.
Seattle did not exactly enact a $15 minimum wage. The increase to $15 is to be phased in over 7 years for businesses with under 500 employees. That includes most indy restaurants (but not franchise operations like McDonalds).
Small employers (businesses with fewer than 500 employees) will reach a $15 an hour minimum wage in seven years.
Quote:
Schedule 2 employers (500 or fewer employees in the U.S.) Schedule 2 employers shall pay each employee an hourly minimum wage of at least: $10.00 by April 1, 2015 $10.50 by January 1, 2016 $11.00 by January 1, 2017 $11.50 by January 1, 2018 $12.00 by January 1, 2019 $13.50 by January 1, 2020 $15.00 by January 1, 2021
Seattle tends to have a boom bust economy and is currently in boom phase, due to Amazon and others. Seattle area unemployment is currently 3.7%. When I took econ 101 eons ago, we were taught that 4% unemployment is 'full employment' since there is always a fraction of workers who are between jobs for whatever reason. There are 4 massive cranes putting up big new towers within 5 minutes walk from where I live. We'll see what happens to employment when boom turns to bust, as it always does. I remember that around 2001, after the tech bubble crash, WA had among the highest unemployment rates of the 50 states.
Seattle DOES NOT have a $15 minimum wage in place at this time.
The schedule for implementation is:
" it started its three tier rise last April.
"$11.00 by April 1, 2015
$13.00 by January 1, 2016
$15.00 by January 1, 2017
- http://murray.seattle.gov/minimumwage/..."
Also, what's not defined in the article is the tipped/non-tipped hires, nor any tracking of the restaurant price points/serving sizes since the new labor wage went into effect this year. It's a major point if the restaurants are raising prices directly or saving costs by serving smaller portions. I've seen that downsizing in some restaurants lately where the entrees are about 15-20% smaller than years past and the sides which used to spill over the edge of the platters are now served (scantily) in those 2 oz paper cups.
Further, Seattle's smaller indie restaurants are able to pay less than $11.00/hour to tipped employees as long as the employees' tips reach $1.00/hour or more. What the restaurant must do is ensure that their workers get $11.00 hour by making up the difference. Current reports assert that Seattle waitstaff earn an average of mid $14 hour already between wages and tips, one of the highest waitstaff earnings levels in the USA.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sunsprit
FALSE PREMISE.
Read your own cited article and it's sources.
Seattle DOES NOT have a $15 minimum wage in place at this time.
The schedule for implementation is:
" it started its three tier rise last April.
"$11.00 by April 1, 2015
$13.00 by January 1, 2016
$15.00 by January 1, 2017
- http://murray.seattle.gov/minimumwage/..."
Yes, and with the great weather, the tourists and cruise ship passengers are flocking in, this has nothing to do with the minimum wage. The airport is also setting records for number of passengers. Let's look at it again when it's actually $15, and we have a wet cloudy summer.
Note also that WA state minimum wage is $9.47 (state min. wage is indexed to inflation, and goes up every year). So the current Seattle minimum of $10.00 is still barely higher than what was already in place.
Also note that the cost of living in Seattle is high, and rents in particular have skyrocketed during the current boom. Even if they had immediately imposed a $15/hr minimum wage, it would not be enough to live on in Seattle. The average rent is over $1600/month. On $15/hr full time, you would be paying nearly 100% of your after-tax income on rent. In Seattle, the rent is too damn high | Grist
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