Minimum Wage Increases and Vacancies
38 Pages Posted: 22 Apr 2022
There are 3 versions of this paper
Minimum Wage Increases and Vacancies
Minimum Wage Increases and Vacancies
Minimum Wage Increases and Vacancies
Date Written: April 21, 2022
Abstract
Using a unique data set and a novel identification strategy we explore the effect of the state-level minimum wage increases on firms' existing and new vacancy postings. Utilizing occupation-specific county-level vacancy data from the Conference Board's Help Wanted Online for 2005-2018, we show that the state-level minimum wage increases lead to substantial declines in existing and new vacancy postings for occupations with a larger share of workers earning around the prevailing minimum wage. Our estimate implies that a 10 percent increase in the binding minimum wage reduces vacancies by 2.4 percent contemporaneously, and could be as large as 4.5 percent a year later. The negative effect on vacancies is more pronounced for occupations where workers generally have lower educational attainment (high school or less) and those in counties with higher poverty rates.
Keywords: Minimum Wage; Vacancies; Hiring; Search and Matching
JEL Classification: E24, E32, J30, J41, J63, J64
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation