Wage plan ‘kills jobs’
A City Council proposal to force businesses getting city subsidies to increase their base wages to $11.50 per hour — or $10 plus benefits — would kill jobs, a new study contends.
The report, which the city Economic Development Corp. ordered last year from the consulting firm Charles River Associates, concluded that the measure would discourage the creation of at least 33,000 prospective jobs over 20 years.
“The study is clear: The legislation would result in major job losses at all income levels and particularly among low-income New Yorkers,” Mayor Bloomberg said.
Proponents of the living-wage bill — which will be the subject of a council hearing Thursday — blasted the $1 million report.
“It is disappointing New York City taxpayers paid $1 million for a study that denounces a small wage increase for the working poor because it might affect the powerful, wealthy real-estate industry,” said Bettina Damiani of the nonprofit organization Good Jobs New York.
Council Speaker Christine Quinn did not comment on the new findings.
