Statement by Senate Republican Conference Leader Dean Skelos

Today, the Assembly once again advanced legislation to increase the minimum wage in New York State, this time proposing a hike to a full $9.  I continue to have concerns that this measure may be counterproductive to our efforts to help businesses create new jobs and rebuild the state’s economy.

We estimate that increasing the minimum wage to $9 would negatively impact New York businesses to the tune of $480 million, causing them to shed jobs to protect their bottom line.

Under this proposal, businesses would be forced to incur an additional $2,800 per full-time employee and an additional $1,330 per part-time employee.  In this fragile economy, businesses cannot afford those new costs.

According to U.S. Census data, 83.5% of minimum wage recipients are teenagers living with working parents, adults living alone or dual-earner married couples.

In addition, recent minimum wage hikes have reduced employment for younger, less educated people by as much as 22 percent.  With approximately half of minimum wage earners between the ages of 16 and 24, I worry that the Assembly’s legislation would hurt those young workers the most.

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