New Minimum Wage Worries Extend from Coast to Coast

The NFIB reports, with $15 minimum wage hikes on the horizon for many areas across the country, small businesses are prepping for the worst. Brace yourselves, business owners: The minimum wage continues to rise.

California and New York are just the latest areas to raise their minimum wage to $15 an hour, according to NPR. And that’s just statewide—many cities have already seen, or soon will see, their own hikes, including Seattle; Missoula, Mont.; Pittsburgh; San Marcos, Texas; and Washington, D.C.

The statewide wage hikes will be phased in in small increments yearly, eventually reaching $15 by 2021 in New York and 2022 in California. Owners will either have to raise their prices or cut positions to compensate for the new wage, according to NPR.

“It’s going to be hard, you know?” Kurt Samuels, a small business owner in New York, told NPR. Presently, he has one part-time employee making the current minimum wage. “Maybe her hours most likely going to be cut, you know, ’cause the end of the day, got to pay the rent, pay the bills, the gas, light, insurance.”

To find out more on the impact of the rising minimum wage follow the link below:

NFIB – New Minimum Wage Worries Extend from Coast to Coast