According to a new report, by 2021, there could be between 4,000 and 11,000 fewer jobs created in the North Country if the minimum wage goes to $15 an hour.
The study by non-profit Empire Center for Public Policy says in markets with lower average wages, fewer jobs will be available if the pay goes up.
The report projects more than 41 percent of the North Country’s workforce would be impacted.
“People might step back and say more money, more money, but that means prices will rise,” President of Empire Center for Public Policy E.J McMahon said. “Inevitably, they’ll be fewer people hired, it will mean employees who have very narrow profit margins maybe can’t continue to stay in business,”
The report also shows statewide as many as 600,000 fewer jobs would be created with a higher wage.
© 2015 Nexstar
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