A proposed $17-an-hour federal minimum age would cost North Carolina 98,000 jobs, according to an analysis by the right-leaning Employment Policies Institute.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Virginia, have introduced a measure in Congress that would raise the minimum wage from the current $7.25 per hour to $17 per hour and eliminate the tip credit.
The move would cost the nation 1.2 million jobs overall, EPI found. Eliminating the tip credit would cost an additional 447,000 jobs, bringing the cumulative total to around 1.65 million jobs. Sixty-two percent of the job losses would be among women, 63% would be among 16-24 year-olds, and 60% would be jobs in the hospitality industry.
The analysis was conducted by economists Drs. William Even of Miami University and David Macpherson of Trinity University. The researchers used nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office methods to estimate future employment trends and the impact of the proposal.
“This bill mirrors Sanders’ ill-conceived $15 wage proposal, which was killed by members of his own party in 2021,” said Employment Policies Institute research director Rebekah Paxton in a statement. “This radical new wage bill from Sanders and Scott would kill 1.7 million jobs, including over 98,000 jobs in North Carolina, because it fails to account for varying regional impacts. Nobody should support this proposal that only stands to hurt North Carolina businesses and their employees.”
A bill to increase North Carolina’s minimum wage to $15 per hour was filed by Democrats in the state Senate in March. The bill was referred to the Senate Rules Committee and did not make the crossover deadline.