Bay Area Job Growth Slows After Minimum-Wage Hikes
The pace of hiring in the leisure and hospitality sector fell to a five-year low for the Bay Area last month, Labor Department data show. Job gains have slowed to less than half the rate that preceded Oakland's and San Francisco's adoption last spring of the highest citywide minimum wage in country.
After rising close to 5% a year, hiring at restaurants, hotels and other leisure sector venues rose just 2.2% from a year ago in November. Meanwhile, in the rest of California, where the minimum wage is generally $3.25 below the $12.25-an-hour level set in Oakland and San Francisco, leisure and hospitality employment rose 4.9%.
The data suggest potential employment headwinds from the higher minimum wage, which jumped 36% in Oakland and 14% in San Francisco. On top of that, Oakland's minimum wage is set to rise to $12.55 in January while San Francisco's will jump to $13 in July.
Yet the data are far from conclusive because they are still preliminary and cover the entire San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward metropolitan statistical area, of which the two cities' population is one-third.
Detecting the employment impact of the minimum-wage hikes by comparing Bay Area job gains and those in the rest of California isn't likely to become any easier because the rest of California will be raising its minimum wage by $1 to $10 an hour on New Year's Day. San Diego's wage will rise to $10.50 at the start of the year, to be matched by Los Angeles in July.
Twelve other states also will see minimum-wage hikes in 2016, including gains of $1 in Alaska (to $9.75), Massachusetts (to $10) and Nebraska (to $9).
New York City fast-food workers will get a $1.75 minimum-wage hike to $10.50 in 2016, if they work at chains with more than 30 locations nationwide. In the rest of the state, fast-food workers at major chains will get a $1 hike to $9.75.
A subset of Seattle workers, those whose employers have more than 500 workers and who don't get employer insurance, will be entitled to the same $13 minimum wage set in San Francisco, tops in the nation. Those who do get employer coverage will get a $12.50 minimum. For smaller companies, the minimum wage will be $12 and hour, or $1.50 less for who get employer insurance.
Read More At Investor's Business Daily: http://news.investors.com/blogs-capital-hill/122415-786815-bay-area-is-red-flag-for-big-minimum-wage-hikes.htm#ixzz3vqf0xEav
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