Starting January 1, 2023, Washington State’s minimum wage officially became the highest in the country rising to $15.74. People believe this to be beneficial. According to CBO.com, “Raising the minimum wage would increase the cost of employing low-wage workers. As a result, some employers would employ fewer workers than they would have under a lower wage. However, for certain workers or in some circumstances, employment could increase.”

Seattle, WA is one of the most expensive cities to live in in the United States, with the median price of a single-family home being $975,000. As of December 2022, the annual salary in Seattle is just around $75,000 a year, which is not a stable enough income for the average person to afford a house in the city. This is the reason 35% of people who are employed in Seattle commute from more rural areas such as Lynnwood. Since Washington is the home to many worldwide known companies such as Amazon and Microsoft, with Amazon being the largest employer in the state with every 1 in 10 people working there. Even though we have many large franchises that will hardly be affected by the increase in the minimum wage, hundreds of small businesses in Seattle will still struggle due to this. Family-owned businesses do not get funded by the government to pay their employees, which comes with many issues. As the minimum wage increases with inflation, so does the cost of products. Some people who own a small business want to continue having low prices as they have been in years past, but now must increase the price of what they are selling to afford rent and products. If you are barely making rent every month, it may be difficult to pay your employees while also making profit. In circumstances where you can hardly afford to stay open, employees get laid off from their job. 161,000 people living in Washington state who can work are unemployed. With inflation, people are starting to quit their jobs to find another that pays more, but few businesses pay more than minimum wage. If you do not have a bachelor’s degree nor do you want to go into trades, you are going to have a challenging time trying to find a job that pays the amount you want it to.

That said, the increase in the minimum wage may be beneficial to some but comes with great disadvantages to others. For teenage high school students that have jobs, this is great, “I think that it’s good, I believe it lessens the burden of buying my basic amenities since I have more money to spend.” Max Gardener said.