PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Florida’s minimum wage is now $11 an hour. It’s set to increase by a dollar every year until 2026.
WEAR News spoke with the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors at the Haas Center, Dr. Jerry Parrish. The Haas Center at UWF provides research on workforce development in Northwest Florida.
Dr. Parrish says increasing minimum wage has benefits and disadvantages.
He says several employers already increased their pay to attract more talent in this competitive labor market.
State law requires minimum wage to go up a dollar every year until 2026.
Dr. Parrish says increases in minimum wage could have a negative impact on younger workers.
“My concern is those young people who are trying to get into the labor force that don’t have the skills to be worth $11 or $13 or up to $15 an hour as it gets there in 2026,” says Dr. Parrish.
Dr. Parrish says higher pay could attract more people to the state.
Nearby states like Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana all use the federal minimum wage, $7.25 an hour.
Florida’s new minimum wage is more than 50 percent higher than that rate.
A recent investigation by the BBC has brought an uncomfortable issue into the open. Its undercover report, released on 16 April, alleges that some unregulated immigration advisers are encouraging ...