New York City has lost more restaurant jobs with the coming of the $15 per hour Minimum Wage than it did in the aftermath of the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
According to a new report, the Big Apple’s food service industry has been seriously hurt by the new $15 Minimum Wage that went into effect this year.
According to the Foundation for Economic Education:
Data show that following the labor movement’s “Fight for $15” victory, which imposed steep annual increases in mandatory wages for workers, New York City experienced its sharpest decline in restaurant jobs in nearly 20 years.
Well, gosh. Doesn’t that defeat the claim that the wage hike was intended to “help the poor”?
FEE added:
Restaurants tend to operate on famously low profit margins, typically 2 to 6 percent. So, a 40 percent mandatory wage increase over a two-year period is not trivial.
In response to the minimum wage hikes, New York City restaurants did what businesses tend to do when labor costs rise: they increased prices and reduced labor staff and hours.
The higher Minimum wage forced employers to cut jobs and slash hours of the workers that are left.
A New York City Hospitality Alliance survey also showed that three out of four full-service restaurants said they planned to reduce employee hours. Nearly half of those surveyed said they planned to eliminate some job positions in 2019.
“December 2018 restaurant jobs were down by almost 3,000 (and by 1.64%) from the previous December,” wrote economist Mark Perry, “and the 2.5% annual decline in March 2018 was the worst annual decline since the sharp collapse in restaurant jobs following 9/11 in 2001.”
“Perry says this ‘restaurant recession’ is likely the result of the series of mandatory wage hikes that brought the city’s minimum wage to $15 an hour,” FEE added.
Once again, the left turns out to be destroyers, not a help to anyone.
Cross-posted with Godfather Politics
