Time-Series Evidence of the Effect of the Minimum Wage on Youth Employment and Unemployment

Our updated estimates indicate that a 10 percent increase in the federal minimum wage (or the coverage rate) would reduce teenage (16-19) employment by about 1 percent, which is at the lower end of the range of estimates from previous studies. Because of substantial labor force withdrawal, the unemployment effects are practically zero. These minimum wage effects differ very little by sex, and there is no strong evidence that the effects vary by race. The study also finds a significant-albeit small-unemployment impact for young adults (20-24) and examines the consequences of numerous alternative statistical and mathematical specifications of the estimating model.