BEND, Ore. – Higher minimum wages are expected to affect about 11 percent of jobs in central Oregon.

The Bulletin reported a recent article from the Oregon Employment Department challenges the idea that the region’s tourism-based economy is more susceptible to job losses from a sharp increase in the minimum wage in other parts of the state.

A new statewide minimum wage of $9.50 in rural counties and $9.75 in urban counties is the first of seven increases scheduled to take effect every July 1 through 2022.

According to the Oregon Employment Department, 10.9 percent of the jobs in the greater Deschutes County area pay less than the minimum wage on July 1, compared to 10.2 percent in Oregon overall.