Restoring Altitude : Economic Impacts of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Minimum Wage Proposal

This report analyzes the impacts of a proposed increase in the minimum wage to $19 an hour for 40,000 workers employed at airports under the jurisdiction of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. These are jobs at John F. Kennedy, Newark Liberty, and LaGuardia airports. The wage floor for workers providing ticketing, baggage handling, security, airplane and building cleaning, restaurant, retail, and on-plane catering services will rise to $19 an hour by 2023. An economic stimulus is projected in the communities where workers live. Their increased household spending is projected to increase economic output by over $465 million in 2023 and every year thereafter, creating 2,700 new jobs