Obama's proposed minimum wage hike could cost D.C. jobs

Courtesy Bloomberg

President Barack Obama gives his State of the Union address on Tuesday.

Staff Washington Business Journal

The minimum wage in the District could jump 21 percent to $10 if President Barack Obama successfully increases the federal minimum wage, which he called for during his State of the Union address on Tuesday, a move that could cost D.C. jobs, the Washington Examiner reported.

Robert Lerman, an economist at the Urban Institute, said Wednesday that a minimum wage hike could hurt most the group it is designed to help: low-skilled minority workers. Economic data on the effects of increasing the minimum wage acknowledge that at some point, an inflated minimum wage will prompt employers to cut jobs.

Related: Should the federal minimum wage be raised to $9 an hour? Take our poll.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vertical_15/~3/W1UOgHKxJMs/president-obamas-proposed-minimum.html

Microsoft Tropical Storm Isaac amber portwood Phyllis Diller Darla Moore newsweek Tony Scott