Letter: Seattle minimum wage doesn’t cost jobs

Regarding the June 27 TCH article from the Associated Press headlined “New study of Seattle’s $15 minimum wage says it costs jobs,” nothing in the article sustains the claim put forth in the headline.

The article acknowledged that in the years covered by the study, the Seattle minimum wage was at most $13 per hour. What does that say about the validity of the claim made in headline regarding the $15 minimum wage that won’t go into full effect until 2021?

The article also claimed that the study found that while the law has boosted pay in low-wage jobs, it also claims that it caused a 9 percent reduction in hours worked, amounting to a loss of about $125 per month for those workers. What? Do the math. If a worker’s wage is increased from the state’s current $11 per hour minimum to $13 per hour, and even if their hours are reduced by 9 percent, they will still finish ahead by approximately $100 per month, varying slightly depending on the total hours worked before their wages and hours worked changed.

This story was originally published July 10, 2017 at 3:01 PM with the headline "Letter: Seattle minimum wage doesn’t cost jobs."