Seattle’s $15 Wage Didn’t Kill Jobs

In 2014, Seattle implemented a $15 minimum wage, defying expectations of widespread job loss. For years, economists predicted wage increases would harm employment, rooted in a belief that markets efficiently allocate resources. This “neoliberal consensus” posited a tradeoff between fairness and economic growth.

However, studies of Seattle and other cities—including San Francisco, and states like Missouri and Alaska—showed these predictions were inaccurate. A University of Massachusetts analysis of 138 state-level minimum wage changes from 1979 to 2016 found no evidence of job loss. The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago found low-wage households spent an average of $2,800 more annually after a $1 wage increase.

Researchers now suggest a different framework— “market humanism”—emphasizing cooperation and the importance of fair wages for a thriving economy. This emerging view acknowledges that the old paradigm failed to account for worker well-being and systemic factors. While a full alternative is still developing, the minimum wage experience offers a crucial challenge to established economic thought and continues to be investigated.