This is what automation could mean for low-wage jobs in the US

Aug 3, 2018

A cashier counts out money at Macy's Herald Square on Thanksgiving Day in New York November 28, 2013. Some early U.S. shoppers headed to stores on Thanksgiving Day in search of discounted holiday gifts on a day long reserved for American families to bond over turkey and football. Macy's Inc and a slew of other stores are opening later on Thanksgiving for the first time ever in a bare-knuckle brawl for a bigger slice of holiday sales. REUTERS/Eric Thayer (UNITED STATES - Tags: BUSINESS)

The rise of the robot? Image: REUTERS/Eric Thayer (UNITED STATES - Tags: BUSINESS)

Daniel Aaronson

Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

Brian Phelan

Assistant Professor, DePaul University

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Notes: Using Occupation Employment Statistics data over the period 1999-2009 from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the figures plot the change in the log of occupational employment from four years prior against the one-year change in the minimum wage from three years prior. This structure allows minimum wage changes to have lagged effects on employment. Each observation is a state-year weighted by employment levels in the base year. Minimum wage hikes less than 0.03 log points are excluded from the figures. Image: LSE Business Review

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