Economy

California’s $20 an Hour Minimum Wage for Fast Food Workers: Who Pays for It?

The minimum wage for California fast food workers has raised the prices of fast food and may have lowered profit margins for restaurants, a study shows.
California’s $20 an Hour Minimum Wage for Fast Food Workers: Who Pays for It?
Workers fill food orders at a Chipotle restaurant in San Rafael, Calif., on April 1, 2024. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Panos Mourdoukoutas
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California’s April 1 minimum wage hike for fast food restaurant workers has mainly been paid for by consumers in the form of higher prices for fast food and by restaurant owners in the form of lower profit margins, according to a recent study by the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE).

Employment remained stable, meaning that workers received the full benefit of the minimum wage hike.

Panos Mourdoukoutas
Panos Mourdoukoutas
Author
Panos Mourdoukoutas is a professor of economics at Long Island University in New York City. He also teaches security analysis at Columbia University. He’s been published in professional journals and magazines, including Forbes, Investopedia, Barron's, IBT, and Journal of Financial Research. He’s also the author of many books, including “Business Strategy in a Semiglobal Economy” and “China's Challenge.”