This report that was conducted by the National Federation of Independent Businesses Research Center analyzed the impact of the Raise the Wage Act on small businesses. The law requires an increase of the federal minimum wage over a six-year period from $7.25/hr. to $15.00/hr. Researchers utilized the Business Size Insight Module (BSIM) model within the larger REMI model to assess the economic and employment effects resulting from this type of federal policy. The corresponding analysis estimated that the Raise the Wage Act would decrease private sector employment by more than 1.6 million jobs while producing a total U.S. real output loss above $2 trillion. It was also determined that small businesses would be especially hurt by this legislation as businesses with less than 500 employees were forecast to experience 57% of the private sector job loss.
