Fast Food Jobs At Record High In SoCal Despite $20 Minimum Wage: Report

CALIFORNIA — Fast food employment reached a record high in June despite a new law setting the minimum wage at $20 for workers in the industry, according to The Orange County Register.

There were 361,500 fast food employees in June across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, according to Southern California News Group business columnist Jonathan Lansner. The number is an all-time high for the industry, which employs 4.5 percent of the area’s workers, Lansner reported.

This news comes despite the fast food wage law that went into effect April 1, raising the minimum from $16 to $20 per hour.

Fast food jobs were up 400 in June for the area, up 7,600 compared to March and up 3,000 year-over-year, according to Lansner, who noted such restaurants have since 2010 added an average of 3,200 employees in June and 4,900 workers from March to June.

Read more from The Orange County Register.