A new report from the University of California has found that California’s $20 hourly minimum wage for fast food workers has not led to the job losses predicted by industry opponents.
The study, released by UC Berkeley’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, marks the third report investigating the impact of the 2024 wage increase. Researchers found that employment levels remained steady despite the jump from $16 to $20 per hour.
According to the findings, the wage hike led to an average increase of more than 10% in weekly wages for covered workers. The study also noted that price increases for consumers were modest and barely noticeable.
Impact on worker earnings
Michael Reich, chair of the Center on Wage and Employment Dynamics at the Berkeley institute, stated that the latest data reinforces previous findings.
“We have some entirely new data,” Reich said. “The results, though, are pretty much the same as before.”
Co-author Denis Sosinskiy and Reich concluded that the higher minimum wage increased the average weekly wage for covered fast food workers by approximately 11%.
These results align with earlier studies conducted by Harvard University’s Kennedy Center and UC San Francisco. The data contradicts earlier claims from the restaurant industry that the law would force employers to shed jobs or dramatically raise menu prices.
While the debate over the 2023 law continues, the growing body of research suggests a different reality than the initial industry warnings. The findings suggest that the transition from $16 to $20 an hour has significantly improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of California workers without destabilizing the sector's workforce.
