Wage Increases Would Quicken Lagging New York's Recovery

In testimony delivered to the New York State Assembly Standing Committee on Labor’s Subcommittee on Emerging Workforce, Dr. James Parrott, director of economic and fiscal policies at Center for New York City Affairs (CNYCA), urged lawmakers to bolster the state’s economic recovery by increasing the state minimum wage and raise compensation for child care providers and home health care workers. He cited research showing that “raising wages could ameliorate high quit rates, effectively raising the costs of changing jobs for workers.” 

He pointed out that state minimum wage increases in the pre-pandemic years did not come at the expense of business profitability, and that further increases would also help reduce labor shortages in key industries, enabling “tens of thousands of New York workers to enter or re-enter the labor force.”

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