NYS minimum wage to stay flat in 2027 over job loss

ALBANY — Minimum wage workers in New York won’t be getting an automatic raise in January after all.

For the first time since 2024, the hourly minimum wage will stay flat — at $17 on Long Island — because a dip in jobs suspended automatic increases that are tied to inflation in state law. It's only the third year since 2013 that Long Island's minimum wage hasn't increased. The hourly wage remained at $15 for 2022 and 2023.

The freeze comes as costs of goods and services continue to rise, including for oil and gas, which have increased since the U.S. war with Iran.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is running for reelection, on Wednesday proposed changing the law to increase the minimum wage, blaming the war in Iran and President Donald Trump's tariff policies for the rising cost of living. Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who's running against Hochul in November's election, didn't respond to a request for comment.

Changes would require a vote from the State Legislature, which won’t be back in session until January, and a special session is not likely before the November elections.

Minimum wage hikes had been debated each year by the State Legislature until 2023, when it passed a law tying annual increases to inflation. Along with Long Island, the minimum wage in New York City and Westchester County is $17. It is $16 an hour for those in other parts of the state.

That law included three "off ramps" that would pause increases in the event of an economic downturn. They are triggered if there’s "negative inflation," if the unemployment rate is up a certain amount and if the state’s seasonally adjusted, nonfarm job numbers from July are lower than what was recorded in January and April.

Tying minimum wage to inflation "provided businesses with greater predictability while helping workers keep pace with the cost of living," said Stacey Sikes, acting president and CEO of the Long Island Association, a nonprofit business advocacy group. "Any discussion about revisiting the formula should be driven by economic data and take into account the impact on employers, particularly as businesses across New York continue to face rising costs."

In January, there were more than 10 million jobs, but it dropped to 9.97 million in April, according to state labor data. Job numbers increased to 9.99 million in May, but dropped again in July to 9.96 million.

The governor’s office blamed, in part, federal policy changes — including changes to immigration enforcement as well as tariffs — for job declines and high costs. 

State Sen. Jessica Ramos (D-Jackson Heights), who chairs the chamber's Labor Committee, said Hochul was the one who introduced the "off ramps" as they were discussing the minimum wage legislation in 2023. They were ultimately agreed to by the legislature.

"I don’t think that clause should have ever been [in] the law," she said. "If we’re not aggressively adjusting for inflation in favor of a higher minimum wage, why are we using the stagnation of job creation as an excuse to have wage stagnation, which has historically been the issue and a driving force in creating poverty in New York State."

The governor, if reelected, said she would introduce legislation in January tweaking the job "off ramp," basing it on a percentage of decline rather than an absolute drop, as well as using a median monthly rate. The bill would help the hardest-hit workers and business "keep pace with the cost of living, maintain their purchasing power, contribute to the state economy, and support our small business community," Hochul said in a statement.