Great Recession Job Losses And The Minimum Wage Increases

Often lost in the discussions of the Great Recession and the financial crisis is the federal government's mandated step increases in the minimum wage in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Was the rise in the minimum wage a contributor?

From Political Calculations blog "The Minimum Wage and Job Loss from 2006 through 2010" on March 9, 2011:

Interestingly, the average number of employed members of the civilian labor force in 2006 was 144,427,000. In 2010, the average number of employed members of the civilian labor force in the U.S. was 5,363,000 less, standing at 139,064,000.

So, in percentage terms of the change in total employment level from 2006 to 2010, jobs affected by the federal minimum wage hikes of 2007, 2008 and 2009 account for 42.5% of the total reduction in jobs seen since 2006.

Also see my 2009 post, "Minimum Wage Increases Unemployment."