The report says that the weekly pay packet for affected workers could be as much as 7% lighter each week. But that is the worst case scenario cited by the study. In most markets, the weekly decline will be between 1% and 3%. Among the hardest hit 50 markets, employee wages could decline by as much as $65 a week or $3,380 over the course of a year. On the other hand, some employees in those markets could end up losing $10 a week or $520 over a year. Employees in Kansas City, Kansas and in St. Louis, Missouri would feel the brunt of these pay cuts according to the study.
The report adds that employee wages could be cut even if there were no layoffs. The study’s authors base this on a concept called monopsony, which allows employers to pay employees less than what they are worth due to the lack of competition for that labor.
