Minimum wage workers in Pennsylvania will receive their second raise of the year today.
On Jan. 1, minimum wage workers' pay was hiked from $5.15 to $6.25 per hour. Today, the minimum wage rises to $7.15 per hour.
Critics of the increase have charged it will result in a job loss, but impact studies have indicated that has not been the case, said Don Laughery, a state labor market analyst.
“The January increase had virtually no impact,” he said.
Because years have passed since the state last raised the minimum wage, most workers were already making more than the legal base pay, Laughery said.
The increase may have had an effect on youth looking for summer jobs, he said. Youth are the primary group affected by the law. But because most teenagers only began working when school ended about one month ago, data is not yet available about the minimum wage law's effects on them.
Many youth are receiving their pay raises more gradually than the rest of the workforce. The 60-day youth training wage, which is currently based on the current federal minimum wage of $5.15, will increase to $5.85 per hour on July 24 for employees younger than 20.
Laughery doubted that today's increase would have much effect on the workforce, either. Across the state, unemployment is at approximately 4 percent. That is the point when labor shortages develop. Businesses cannot find enough workers to fill jobs, Laughery said.
“Businesses are already paying a premium to get employees. They can't worry about bargain basement cheap,” he said.
The governor's office has estimated 400,000 workers in the commonwealth will see their hourly pay increase.
“Pennsylvania is home to the hardest working men and women in the country,” Gov. Ed Rendell said in a statement. “So it is only right that we ensure that they are receiving an equitable minimum wage for the contributions they make to our economy.”
Somerset County Chamber of Commerce director Ron Aldom said he believes the law has had an effect locally, but the effect is hard to quantify.
Minimum wage workers are scheduled to receive a 10 cent raise in 2009. That is when the federal minimum wage will pass the state wage. In states where the two wages differ, employers are required to pay employees whichever wage is higher.
On Friday, a state legislator announced she is introducing legislation to tie the minimum wage to the consumer price index. Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione, D-Philadelphia, said her bill would reset the minimum wage every January.
Before the minimum wage was raised, its buying power had sunk to a 40-year low. Tartaglione said she wants to make sure that doesn't happen again.
“This bill is fair to workers and easier on business owners who can raise wages gradually and can better predict what's ahead,” Tartaglione said. “The buying power of the minimum wage today should be the buying power of the minimum wage tomorrow.”
The Legislature passed and the governor approved today's minimum wage increase last summer.
Email this page
