Further empirical evidence that raising the minimum wage can actually help an economy

In San Jose, a minimum wage increase and falling unemployment (Click here to read more)

Rss@dailykos.com (laura Clawson) · Tuesday, June 17, 2014, 11:09 pm
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Here's another example to point to when opponents of a higher minimum wage claim that it would cost jobs. The minimum in San Jose, California, has gone from $8.00 an hour to $10.00 and then $10.15, and University of California-Berkeley economist Michael Reich has been studying the results:
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    [The minimum wage increase] directly and indirectly affected 70,000 of the city's 370,000 workers, Reich says.
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    San Jose restaurants, which Reich says were most affected by the pay increase, raised menu prices by an average 1.75%, according to his study. He says there has been no discernible impact on employment.
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    The unemployment rate in the San Jose metro area, in fact, has fallen to 5.4% from 7.4% in March 2013. The San Jose Downtown Association says the number of restaurants in the district has increased by 20% the past 18 months.
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So 70,000 people have gotten a raise, unemployment has fallen, the resulting price increase is 1.75 percent in the industry most affected, and the number of businesses in that most-affected industry is actually growing. Some restaurant owners say they've been hurt by the increase, but others have been surprised by how well it's gone:
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