ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo yesterday predicted that the state’s minimum wage will go up in 2013 despite Republican reluctance.
“I think we will increase the minimum wage this year,” he told reporters in Westchester after a presentation involving the budget.
“We’ve had good conversations on both sides of the aisle,” added the governor, who included a hike from the current $7.25 to $8.75 an hour in his budget proposal for the fiscal year that starts next month.
Democrats want to jack up the rate to as much as $9 an hour with annual indexing for inflation — mirroring President Obama’s proposal — but Republican state legislators insist any hike could cost jobs in New York.
“I’d like to see it get done in the budget,” Cuomo said. “If it’s not done by April, we’ll get it done by June” — when the 2013 state legislative session is scheduled to end.
State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Nassau) has said studies show minimum-wage hikes result in job losses among the young and unskilled — but he has been careful not to close the door on a hike this year.