Starting on January 1st, Upstate New York saw a fifty-cent increase in its minimum wage from last year, jumping from $15 per hour to $15.50.

"The minimum wage at its core was designed to help those entering the labor market at the beginning of their careers, to help them get experience become more productive employees," Director of Center of Human Resources for the Business Council of New York State Frank Kerbein said. "It was never meant to be sort of a living wage for people."

In Broome County, the unemployment rate sits at 3.6% as of January 3, 2025, lower than the long-term average of 5.67%. However, Executive Director at Broome-Tioga Workforce Robert Murphy says there's a bigger issue that the wage increase could possibly help out.

"The bigger issue is the labor participation rate, is how many people who are actually in the job market remove themselves from it. Will that 1550 get more people? Probably," Murphy said. 

The most impacted by these wage increases are small businesses, making up 98% of New York state's businesses.  Here in Broome County, areas like Main Street in Binghamton and Johnson City are hot spots for these locations.

Murphy says employers could potentially feel pressure to increase wages even more for long-term employees. 

"As you do increase the minimum wage you also the people who are not making minimum wage, you know, they're going to be looking for a little more the same kind of separation they had previously," Murphy said. 

As New York State faces a workforce shortage since COVID, Kerbein mentions it's already hard enough to find workers, let alone increase the cost of them. Increased minimum wages could provide additional challenges for businesses, like uniform, housing, and food allowances.

"It's not just, you know, you're thinking the fast food worker or the cashier checkout. It impacts a lot of business costs," Kerbein said. 

Upstate New Yorks minimum wage rate is set to increase another fifty cents in 2026, putting it at $16 an hour.