Higher Minimum Wage: Good Or Bad For The Economy?

Relay Robot will assist guests at RAR Hospitality's Fairfield Inn in San Marcos
Relay Robot Will Assist Guests At Rar Hospitality's Fairfield Inn In San Marcos

A ballot initiative to raise San Diego’s minimum wage in 2016 from $10.50 to $11.50 provided a test case for upward movement of the minimum wage throughout California this year to $11.50 — and $15 by 2023. There is some evidence the higher minimum wage has stifled job growth for some low-wage workers, while boosting wages for thousands of others.

A report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found a year-over-year drop in food-service job growth, which fell from 6.6% growth to a 0.3% decline by February 2017, which translates to 4,000 food-service jobs either not created or eliminated, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Robots are expected to eliminate even more minimum-wage jobs in the near future, with McDonald’s rolling out self-ordering kiosks, Starbucks testing an automated barista, and one company promising a robotic arm called “Flippy” that cooks and flips burgers.

In San Diego County, unemployment dropped from 4.5% in January to 4.2% in February, according to a California Employment Development Department report, and down from 4.8% a year ago. After adjusting for seasonal variation, the rate was 4.1%. The local labor market was stronger than the rest of the state (5%) or nation (4.7%), with employers adding 6,600 jobs in the first two months of the year and 26,700 jobs over the last 12 months.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's San Diego Newsletters
Related Stories

Willy Walker: Data Shows Economic Resilience, Multifamily Rebound

Policy Changes, Shifting Demand And Design Trends: How San Diego's Housing Market Is Faring In 2026

Brexit Slowly But Surely Remade London Commercial Real Estate. Now The Future Is Even Less Certain

Mayoral Candidate Kenyan McDuffie On How He Would Revive Housing Development In D.C.

Oil Seeps Into Every Corner Of CRE. The Reckoning From Price Spikes Is Still To Come

Houston Sees Record Onshoring Amid Global Trade Disruption

Ken Griffin: Citadel NYC Tower 'Probably' Going Ahead Despite Mamdani Video

Real Estate Money Mostly Flowing To One Candidate In D.C. Mayor's Race

Consumer Sentiment Sours Over Inflation Concerns

EXCLUSIVE: Mayor Bowser On A Decade Of Big Developments And What's Next For D.C.

Peoples Bank Is Expanding Into The DMV. What Potential Does It See In The Area?

FIRST DRAFT LIVE: Iran, Interest Rates And The $1.2T Maturity Wall With Peachtree CEO Greg Friedman