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.