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ALBANY, N.Y. — In front of the media Wednesday morning at the state Capitol, officials from Empire Center for Public Policy and the American Action Forum released their study on what effect the $15 an hour minimum wage increase would have on the state.

“There’s an enormous amount of stress in the labor market, and that very real distress has lead to all sorts of proposals for raising minimum wages and other interventions,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, of the American Action Forum.

Their report used three different research models to produce low, medium and high projected impacts on jobs and net wage growth. The group says what they found was it would hurt the low-wage, low-skill workers that the $15 an hour wage is supposed to help.

“It’s going to be a cost for businesses, and that means they have to raise their prices for everybody, it’s going to be workers that don’t get hired and it’s a loss for them,” said Holtz-Eakin.

According to the report, in the Capital Region, the amount of jobs lost over time could rise to more than 36,000. Statewide it could be between 200,000 and nearly 600,000.

“Slower growth, the inability to expand businesses and start new ones will take its toll on the workers who would very much like to get into the labor force, have the first job and climb up the latter,” said Holtz-Eakin.

But Mark Emanation with Capital Region Citizen Action Network of New York says the report is all smoke and mirrors.

“Since 2014, 25 states and the District of Columbia have raised the minimum wage. Where’s the job loss? In those states there’s been a job increase,” said Emanation.

Emanation says he’s seen a report like Thursday’s before.

“I remember someone who owned a big supermarket chain saying we will close if we have to raise these wages, they’re still doing fine and selling stuff. Wages come out of profits,” said Emanation.

“The only people who benefit are those who have managed to get hired or who keep their job at a wage that’s bigger then it would have been,” said Holtz-Eakin.

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