AKRON, Ohio — A raise in Ohio’s minimum wage officially took effect at the start of the new year with the state seeing its highest increase in 15 years: It is now $9.30.

Some business owners debate the impact this will have on the employee shortage.

Steve Large owns Skyway Drive-In in the Akron area. He has 18 employees, but usually aims to have 25.

While Ohio's minimum wage increased by 50 cents, Large said it won’t change much for employees.

“This doesn’t affect us at all. We hire everybody in well over minimum wage, like any place, (that) I’m sure that is having trouble finding staff, which is everybody,” Large said, “I wouldn’t think anybody’s hiring in at minimum wage right now.”

Spectrum News spoke with economist Rob Moore, principal at Scioto Analysis, a Columbus-based group that provides analysis of public issues in the state, to explain more.

“Ohio’s minimum wage is indexed to inflation, unlike a lot of other states’ wages and federal minimum wage,” explained Moore. "So it actually rises on a year-to-year basis.”

Moore said minimum wage bumps usually encourage more people to go out into the workforce, but not this year.

“It’s probably going to have a lower impact than it would’ve had in the past because the labor market is just so much more competitive than it was in the past,” Moore explained.

Which is why businesses like Skyway have starting wages between $12-$14 an hour.

“Because if they walked into a place, applied and then got minimum-wage ($9.30), they can walk across the street and get $13 or $14 an hour," Large said.

The minimum wage for tipped employees goes from $4.40 to $4.65 per hour.