IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 18, 2019

$15 Minimum Wage Robs Women of Jobs, Opportunity, Economic Mobility
CBO confirms new wage would cost 1.3 million jobs, reduce family income by $9 billion

Washington, DC — Patrice Onwuka, senior policy analyst at Independent Women’s Forum, issued the following statement on today’s congressional vote to raise the federal minimum wage to $15:

“Congress would make a costly mistake if they vote to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, one that will rob women and unskilled workers of jobs, opportunity, and economic mobility. 

“The Congressional Budget Office recently confirmed that 1.3 million jobs would be lost if the federal minimum wage was raised to $15 an hour and it would reduce family income by $9 billion by 2025. While many workers would get a raise, it would come at a high cost with fewer jobs, less opportunity and more unemployment.

“The restaurant industry would take a major hit by this bill, which eliminates the tip credit wage. The skyrocketing labor costs would lead to fewer hours for servers, reduced pay, fewer jobs, and greater automation of jobs.

“This is one of the best times for women in the workforce. Women's unemployment is at near-historic lows. Over half of the job gains since 2018 went to female workers. 

“Most minimum-wage workers are young people and over half are women. These workers want skills, experience, and for many restaurant servers, flexibility. Two in three earn a raise within a year to above the minimum wage. 

“Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour and eliminating the tipped credit wage will limit opportunity for women and low-skilled workers.”

####

www.iwf.org

Independent Women's Forum is dedicated to developing and advancing policies that aren’t just well intended, but actually enhance people’s freedom, choices, and opportunities.