The cost of fast-food would increase 4.3 percent if the minimum wage was increased to $15 an hour, according to a study released Monday, July 27, 2015 by researchers in the Purdue University School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. (Photo: File Photo/Gannett News Service)
Raising wages to $15 an hour for fast food restaurant employees would cause an estimated 4.3 percent increase in prices, according to research conducted at Purdue University’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.
Increasing wages to $22 an hour, which the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics says is the average wage for American private industry employees, would cause a 25 percent increase in prices, the study said.
The cost of providing health care benefits would be minimal at restaurants with fewer than 25 full-time employees because of tax credits available in the Affordable Care Act, the research found.
THE NATIONAL DEBATE
In the past two years, fast food workers across the nation have gone on strike or campaigned for a living wage.
More than 29 states last year responded by enacting minimum wage increases, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
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