"New data from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection shows an all-time high of $120.2 million in consumer spending in the first quarter of 2025 - up 13.4 percent from the same period last year. The data reporting was a requirement of the 2021 bill that created the deliverista minimum wage. And the amount of orders has risen, too - up 4.2 percent over the past four quarters. Economists see this as a sign that minimum pay is not having a negative impact on business."
"In July, the City Council passed two bills that would expand the minimum pay standard from just restaurant delivery app workers to all contract gig workers in the five boroughs, including those working for grocery giant, Instacart. The laws were meant to close the " Instacart loophole" that allowed grocery delivery apps to pay workers less than their restaurant counterparts, even though the job is largely the same. An all-out campaign against the bills worked on Mayor Adams, who vetoed the bills after originally supporting their intent. But Speaker Adrienne Adams has vowed to override the vetoes at the upcoming stated meeting on Sept. 10, and cited Streetsblog's coverage in her decision. Even so, Instacart continues to lobbying against the bills."
The city's deliverista minimum wage raised previously underpaid gig-workers' hourly earnings while coinciding with higher consumer spending and order volume. Department of Consumer and Worker Protection data records $120.2 million in consumer spending in Q1 2025, a 13.4 percent year-over-year increase, and a 4.2 percent rise in orders over the past four quarters. Economists interpret the rising spending and orders as evidence that higher minimum pay is not harming delivery businesses. City Council bills sought to extend the minimum pay to all contract gig workers, including Instacart, but the mayor vetoed those bills and Instacart continues to lobby against expansion.
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