Study shows job growth not dampened by minimum wage raises

Oregon will also be raising its minimum wage on January 1, 2008, to keep up with the cost of living. Last month, the Oregon Center for Public Policy released a study showing that not only did the dire consequences predicted by opponents of the wage hike not materialize, but that, since the minimum wage was raised in Oregon, job growth has actually been heartier there than in other states.

A few highlights from the press release:

"The data shows that the restaurant association was engaged in fear mongering," Leachman said, referring to claims by the Oregon Restaurant Association in the 2002 Voters’ Guide that "nearly 30,000 more Oregonians could lose their jobs" as a result of Measure 25.

OCPP’s analysis also calls into question claims by the Oregon Restaurant Association that increases to the minimum wage would cause menu prices to "escalate out of control." In the Portland-Salem metro area, the only area in Oregon where OCPP could easily track restaurant prices, it found that prices have risen more slowly than they have nationwide since the enactment of Measure 25. From 2002 through the first half of this year, restaurant prices
nationally increased 14.7 percent, compared to 13.4 percent in the Portland-Salem area. A variety of factors in addition to wages influence restaurant prices, including the cost of food and energy.