Minimum wage, maximum harm

Greg Mankiw has a post discussing the role of the minimum wage in the Obama recovery.  Comparing 2010 to 2007, Mankiw finds that

• The percentage of all hourly-paid workers paid at or below the minimum wage rose from 2.3 to 6.0 percent.
• The percentage of part-time workers paid at or below the minimum wage rose from 5 to 14 percent.
• The percentage of teenagers paid at or below the minimum wage rose from 7 to 25 percent.

In short, the minimum wage, which was raised by more than $2 per hour as the economy was sliding into recession, has become binding for many more people, thereby constricting employment opportunities.  Those hit hardest by this: teens, African Americans, the less-educated.