A new study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) this month found that California’s 2023 minimum wage hike cost the state thousands of jobs.

Researchers found that the state’s $20 minimum wage fast food hike has cost the fast-food sector 18,000 jobs since it went into effect in April 2024, representing a 3.2% decline in that sector compared to fast-food sectors in other parts of the country.

“Our median estimate translates into a loss of 18,000 jobs in California’s fast-food sector relative to the counterfactual,” researchers Jeffrey Clemens, Olivia Edwards, and Jonathan Meer wrote in their paper.

The California assembly passed AB 1228 in Sept. 2023, which established the state’s “Fast Food Council” and its ability to set and adjust the sector’s minimum wage.

Additionally, the bill, signed into law by California Gov. Gavin Newsom the following April, established a new minimum wage for fast food workers, which was previously $16 an hour.

“The hourly minimum wage for fast food restaurant employees shall be twenty dollars ($20) per hour, effective April 1, 2024. Thereafter, the council may establish, pursuant to this subdivision, minimum wages for fast food restaurant employees that take effect on an annual basis, beginning on January 1, 2025,” text of the bill read.

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