Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 Signed on 5/25//2007
from $5.15 per hr unemployment = 4.4%
to $5.85 per hour on 7/24/07 unemployment = 4.7%
to $6.55 per hour on 7/24/08 unemployment = 6.1%
to $7.25 per hour on 7/24/09 unemployment = 9.5%
As of 2008, 13 states already had minimum wage rates at or above $7.25 per hour.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have not noticed this correlation of minimum wage increases with increased unemployment, as they claim that increasing the minimum wage does not affect employment rate. They have persistently lobbied for minimum wage increases, as well as amnesty for illegal immigrants. Their argument in this area actually shifts the question to the state of the economy and so-called job creation, without mentioning job losses and outsourcing.
