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Employment Effects of California's Fast Food Minimum Wage: Evidence from the QCEW and QWI

Author

Listed:
  • Jeffrey Clemens
  • Olivia Edwards
  • Jonathan Meer
  • Joshua D. Nguyen

Abstract

California recently raised its minimum wage in the fast-food sector from $16.00 to $20.00 per hour. We present one-year and two-year fixed-horizon estimates of the effects of this policy on California’s limited-service restaurant employment using data from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) and the Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI). After one year, our median estimates show that employment declines by 3 percent in the QCEW and 1.5 percent in the QWI relative to the counterfactual. After two years, both data sets show a decline of about 3.5 percent. We discuss evidence from several other recent papers on the employment effects of this policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeffrey Clemens & Olivia Edwards & Jonathan Meer & Joshua D. Nguyen, 2025. "Employment Effects of California's Fast Food Minimum Wage: Evidence from the QCEW and QWI," NBER Working Papers 34033, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34033
    Note: LS PE
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    Cited by:

    1. Sari Pekkala Kerr & William R. Kerr & Louis J. Maiden, 2025. "Careers of Minimum Wage Workers," NBER Working Papers 34405, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J08 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics Policies
    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy

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