, Columnist
We'll Find Out Soon If Higher Minimum Wages Kill Jobs
But don't jump to conclusions before the data are in.
Give that man a raise.
Photographer: John Parra/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Today's jobs report confirms much of what we already know: Workers are finding employment at a steady but unspectacular rate, private-sector job creation is good but not great, hours worked are ever so slowly ticking up and wage increases are pretty much nonexistent.
This got me thinking about the push to increase minimum hourly wages and the demands for a $15 national floor. Although the national $15 minimum probably will go nowhere, given the opposition it faces, there's been lot of movement at the state and local levels as the table below indicates.