On February 3, Governor Josh Shapiro delivered his 2026-2027 budget proposal. This proposal includes a long-overdue increase to Pennsylvania’s minimum wage, from $7.25–the nation’s lowest–to $15 an hour. This wage hike is not just necessary but essential for working-class Pennsylvanians, and it will ultimately outweigh any concerns about its impact on business or inflation. Raising the minimum wage would significantly benefit hardworking Pennsylvanians and send a clear message that workers deserve fair compensation.
The last time the federal government raised the minimum wage was back in 2009. Since then, numerous state legislatures have increased their own minimums, raising the national average from $7.39 to $11. Yet Pennsylvania has stood by the same minimum wage—$7.25—for over seventeen years. According to a 2021 Drexel University study, most workers earning this basic pay receive government assistance such as SNAP while receiving few or no employer-paid benefits. In 2018, 4.7 million recipients of SNAP worked full-time hours for fifty or more weeks. Today, that number is estimated to have nearly doubled. These economic hardships, combined with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, make raising the wage even more necessary.
Pennsylvania is falling behind both neighboring and distant states. On January 1 of this year, nineteen states raised their minimum wages—some from the federal minimum all the way up to $17. Yet Pennsylvania remains as the sole state in the Mid-Atlantic region still using the federal minimum wage. This places Pennsylvania far behind nearby states and harms thousands of working Pennsylvanians struggling to keep up with rising costs.
The number of workers earning the minimum wage in Pennsylvania, though lower than past years, remains at nearly 50,000. According to the Economic Policy Institute, women make up the majority of minimum wage workers in the country. Additionally, and contrary to popular belief, teenagers make up only 12.6 percent of minimum wage workers. The largest share of minimum wage workers are adults working full-time. Many of these laborers, particularly women, are working to support their families. This change is crucial and must be implemented.
Shapiro has long supported this wage hike, following the lead of former Governor Tom Wolf. Critics of the proposal argue that it could increase government spending or force cuts to other programs. In his budget proposal, Shapiro explained that “raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour will save this commonwealth $300 million a year on entitlement programs like Medicaid.” He also argued that the large budget increase is nothing to be afraid of, saying “this budget doesn’t raise taxes—in fact, it continues to cut taxes. It doesn’t require a broad-based tax increase today, tomorrow or at any point in the next five years.”
Republican State Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman countered this claim by saying that “the governor simply wants to spend too much money in this budget, full stop.” This broad claim reflects on the fears spread by many groups and individuals opposed to raising the wage. For example, the Commonwealth Foundation published an article in response to Shapiro’s minimum wage proposal, saying “Pennsylvania, with a $15 minimum wage, could lose as many as 85,779 jobs, disproportionately among employees in the restaurant and bar industry.” However, this claim is misleading and not wholly credible. Not only does this argument use flawed data, but it assumes businesses will make no attempt to adapt to the higher wages. The source cited for this claim is the EPI, or Employment Policies Institute, a name conveniently similar to the credible Economic Policies Institute. This self-labeled “think tank,” led by Rick Berman, is one of many front groups which lobby and are heavily funded by the restaurant, hotel, alcoholic beverage, and tobacco industries. Berman was notably the subject of a 60 Minutes episode titled “Dr. Evil” and has repeatedly lobbied against labor unions and health advocates. In 2002, Berman testified before the New York City Health Oversight Committee, claiming “The level of exposure to secondhand smoke for bartenders, waiters and waitresses is considerably lower than the federal air quality limits established by the federal government.” Do with that as you will.
Another source cited earlier in this article, the Independent Fiscal Office, estimates that increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour will result in a loss of 20,000 jobs, considerably lower than the EPI’s finding of over 100,000 jobs. Moreover, it is noted that “most positions eliminated are part-time and/or entry level,” not full-time workers. Furthermore, the IFO projects that the change will result in a $3.37 billion net income gain before taxes, and a $2.96 billion net income gain after taxes. Of course, this data was not included in the Commonwealth Foundation’s analysis of the budget proposal—perhaps explained by their measly medium credibility rating given by the Media Bias Fact Check organization (which also labels CF as a right-biased organization that bases its arguments off of “strong ideological framing and selective presentation of evidence”).
Finally, the data cited in anti-wage increase articles may not apply to the labor and job markets in Pennsylvania as opposed to other states. In The Minimum Wage Employment Effects and Labour Market Concentration article—a large study conducted by researchers at eleven different universities across the country—it was concluded that employment in concentrated markets, such as in Pennsylvania, tends to rise or remain stable following a minimum wage increase rather than collapse. The study—published in September of 2023—deduced that in areas where there are few employers, wages are held artificially low due to a lack of competition, also known as monopsony power. Therefore, in many rural Pennsylvania areas where minimum wage workers are rather concentrated, employers can afford to pay their employees more without having to cut jobs. The idea that such an increase would cut jobs is more likely to apply to areas with large amounts of competition.
Thus, it is clear that the minimum wage increase in Shapiro’s budget proposal is not only long overdue but will prove to be extremely beneficial for working Pennsylvanians in need of financial stability. Raising the minimum wage will significantly strengthen both the job market and financial security for thousands of workers. After years of stagnation, Pennsylvania’s legislature must act now and raise the minimum wage.
