Raising the Minimum Wage Won’t Hurt Colorado Jobs

A recent study claimed raising Colorado’s minimum wage to $12 by 2020 would result in 90,000 jobs lost; this has been debunked. The study used a flawed model that projects outcomes inconsistent with Colorado’s experience in the two years after the minimum wage increased from $5.15 to $6.85 in 2007. Rather than seeing job loss, the Colorado economy added 71,200 jobs. Related: Minimum Wage Facts The debunked study, which was commissioned by a group opposed to a wage increase, does not look at the full scope of research around minimum wage increases, but instead cherry-picks data from the most negative studies. In sharp contrast, a comprehensive review of minimum wage studies by the Colorado Fiscal Institute with the Bell, the Colorado Center on Law and Policy, and S.A. Wilhelm Consulting shows at or near zero effects on employment should a minimum wage increase pass in November. Next time you hear someone say Colorado’s minimum wage increase will cause job loss, please share our research to correct them. Pitfalls-Flaws-In-Minimum-Wage-Argument