In a recent Fox News opinion piece on September 18th, California Governor Gavin Newsom bragged about the supposed success of the new $20 minimum wage for many fast-food workers in his state. However, the facts show a different story of lower employment growth for workers and higher prices for consumers.
Governor Newsom’s claim that fast-food employment is at an all-time high relies on dubious employment data, as it has not been seasonally adjusted. His claims don’t stand up to scrutiny once one looks at the seasonally adjusted data, with fewer fast-food jobs in California than earlier this year. The new minimum wage went into effect in April, and over the following two months fast-food employment fell; it has only just gotten back to where it was before the new minimum wage was passed.
Even taking the numbers the governor provides at face value shows a steep decrease in employment growth year after year starting just before the new minimum wage went into effect. This result is strong enough that in June, the month before the data Governor Newsom points to as a success, fast-food employment was lower than the year before. Between January and July in 2023 California added 31,700 new fast-food jobs. However, 6,100 fewer jobs were added in the same period of 2024.
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Justin Leventhal is a senior policy analyst for the American Consumer Institute, a nonprofit education and research organization. For more information about the Institute, visit www.TheAmericanConsumer.Org or follow us on Twitter (X) @ConsumerPal.