EPI Research (Page 7 )

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  The Lasting Benefits of Early Work Experience

  August 2014

  The US labor market has recovered slowly but steadily in the years since the Great Recession officially ended in June 2009. But for young adults between the ages of 16 and 19, the recovery has been tepid at best: In the five year period since the summer of 2008, youth unemployment has averaged a staggering 23.5 percent, and the seasonally-adjusted rate was still north of…
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  Minimum Wages and the Business Cycle: Does a Wage Hike Hurt More in a Weak Economy?

  January 2014 ["4568"]

  In his 2013 State of the Union address, President Obama called for an increase in the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour. The following month, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Representative George Miller (D-CA) introduced a bill to raise the wage even higher to $10.10 an hour. One year later, President Obama as well as Congressmen Harkin and Miller have agreed on the $10.10…
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  Counting the Cost: The Impact of an $8.25 New Jersey Minimum Wage on State and Local Government

  October 2013 ["4573","4574"]

  This fall, New Jersey voters will decide whether to alter the state Constitution to raise the minimum wage to $8.25 and then put it on autopilot to rise in future years. The debate in the state has focused on whether or not raising the minimum wage would reduce opportunities for the entry-level workforce. But there’s another cost to consider—the financial cost to state, county, and…
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  Paid Sick Leave in Seattle: Examining the Impact on the Service Industry

  August 2013

  The study, based on surveys of Seattle’s service industry employers affected by the law, finds that some businesses in the city have taken measures to adapt to the costs of the new paid leave law, which took effect just under a year ago. That includes raising prices, reducing staff opportunities, and scaling back on employee benefits. The study is based on a survey of 301…
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  Paid Sick Leave in Connecticut: A Pilot Study of Businesses’ Responses to the Law

  February 2013 ["4178"]

  "Everybody benefits." That’s what proponents of Connecticut’s first-in-the-nation state paid sick leave law told legislators and the public during the debate that preceded the law’s passage. Business owners weren’t so sure—public hearings on the legislation contained testimony from a number of businesses concerned about the effects of the law on their operations. The state’s sick leave law took effect at the beginning of 2012, and…
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  Minimum Wages: Evaluating New Evidence on Employment Effects

  January 2013 ["4622","4623"]

  The fierce political debate over raising the minimum wage, which is repeated yearly in legislatures across the country, has at times been matched by a strong academic debate on the subject. Specifically, economists have argued over whether a higher minimum wage reduces the employment of less-skilled jobseekers. The published research on the subject points overwhelmingly in one direction: A summary of the last two decades…