In the March 18 article “Lawmakers seek increase in minimum wage to $10,” state Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton, called the argument that mandated wage hikes reduce employment “not factual.”

Disagreeing with the senator are nearly three-quarters of labor economists, according to survey research from the University of New Hampshire.

In fact, according to economists at the Federal Reserve Board and the University of California-Irvine, an overwhelming 85 percent of the best studies on the subject confirm the widely held economic consensus that minimum wage increases lead to job loss for the most vulnerable workers.

Sen. Pacheco’s rhetoric might work at a political rally, but it doesn’t stand up to close scrutiny from actual economists.

Michael Saltsman
Research Fellow
Employment Policies Institute
Washington, D.C.