A Seattle company has announced it is moving 100 jobs to Nevada.  Cascade Designs, which make outdoor equipment, says Seattle is simply “too expensive” to continue to grow the business in a cost efficient way.   Citing the city’s new $15 minimum wage as one of the cost drivers, the company says many of its competitors use overseas labor that is significantly cheaper.

The company says moving some of the “less-specialized” jobs to Nevada will enable the company to keep manufacturing costs down so the company can continue to grow.  The minimum wage in Nevada is $7.25 if health insurance benefits are provided by the employer, and $8.25 with no health benefits.  Cascade Designs says the 100 jobs it will bring to Nevada will pay $10 or more.

Numerous studies have shown increases in the minimum wage have the biggest impact on the lowest skilled jobs and workers.  Cascade Designs’ decision to move 100 of its “less-specialized” manufacturing jobs to a state with a much lower minimum wage is a real world example of this.

Seattle isn’t the only city to lose jobs as a result of a high minimum wage law—several businesses in San Francisco have announced they are closing after voters approved a $15 minimum wage last fall.

The House Labor Committee recently passed a bill (HB 1355) that would force all employers in Washington state to pay workers a $12 minimum wage.   The House is expected to pass the bill. 

A $12 or $15 minimum wage for all workers sounds great, but the wage for the works who lose their job as a result of the artificially high wage, such as the 100 Seattle workers who will soon be unemployed, is zero.