Last week, data was published on the effects of raising the minimum wage, which 13 states did on Jan. 1. Massachusetts also recently raised their minimum wage, joining Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island.
Despite what the Congressional Budget Office report suggested in February - that the increase in minimum wage would cost 500,000 jobs - the effect so far has been the opposite. The Associated Press says that the number of jobs in those 13 states has grown by an average of 0.85 percent. The average in other states was 0.61 percent.
These results may provide greater incentive for other states to consider increasing minimum wage. It is an issue that Indiana will certainly continue to face. To read more about the results, check out this article.