WASHINGTON, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Raising U.S. federal minimum wage to 15 U.S. dollars per hour by 2025 will boost pay for at least 17 million workers, but will cut 1.3 million jobs, showed a study released Monday by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
The current federal minimum wage for most workers is 7.5 dollars per hour. In an average week in 2025, the 15-dollar minimum wage would boost the wages of 17 million workers, said the study.
Another 10 million workers otherwise earning slightly more than 15 dollars per hour might see their wages rise as well, the CBO said.
The study came as Democrat-controlled House is expected next week to pass the Raise the Wage Act, which would gradually raise the federal minimum wage to 15 dollars per hour by 2024.
Despite the benefits, the CBO's median estimate is that the pay rise will result in 1.3 million otherwise-employed people becoming jobless.
"There is a two-thirds chance that the change in employment would be between about zero and a decrease of 3.7 million workers," the study added.
Meanwhile, the study also predicted that 1.3 million people will be lifted out of poverty when the minimum wage goes up to 15 dollars.
The study, which also analyzed the impacts on employment if the minimum wage increases to 10 dollars and 12 dollars, said there is "considerable uncertainty about the size of any option's effect on employment."
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