Liberal stronghold set to adopt eye-popping minimum wage amid business exodus
Seattle is slated to increase its minimum wage to $22.14 an hour in 2027 as the broader metro area contends with a sharp drop in job openings and Seattle businesses face mounting cost pressures.Beginning in 2025, all Seattle employers, including small businesses, were required to pay the same minimum wage, which is adjusted annually for inflation.Several Seattle restaurant owners who have since closed their businesses have cited rising labor costs among the financial pressures that contributed to their decisions.During the first half of 2025, shortly after the wage hikes went into effect for all businesses, 450 Seattle restaurants — about 16% of the city’s total — closed.
Restaurant and retail transactions fell by as much as 7% over the prior year in some business and shopping districts around Amazon and Microsoft campuses, according to Square data cited by The Wall Street Journal.SANDERS-AOC BACKED PROGRESSIVE DEBUTS FEDERAL $25 MINIMUM WAGE BILL WITH COALITION OF 100+ ORGANIZATIONSStarbucks employees and supporters strike in front of the former Starbucks Reserve Roastery that closed earlier in the year, Thursday, Nov.13, 2025, in Seattle.
(AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)If no other jurisdictions increase their minimum wages to match or surpass Seattle, the Emerald City will have the highest minimum wage in the country next year.An individual working full time on minimum wage in the city will make just over $46,000 annually."If the servers are making $20 an hour, then I gotta pay the cooks $35," one Seattle restaurant owner said of the wage increases to Eater in 2024.LA HOTEL LEADERS WARN MAYOR BASS' $30 WAGE MANDATE IS KILLING BUSINESS AHEAD OF WORLD CUP, OLYMPICSThe Seattle city skyline.
(Nik Lanum)"Operators are making less money than ever and are charging more than ever," Anthony Anton, CEO of the Washington Hospitality Association, said last year, according to the Center Square.A peer-reviewed study published by researchers at the University of Wisconsin, Ma...