When the market wage is higher than the equilibrium wage in an economy, .

If the minimum wage is set below the equilibrium wage rate, it has no effect. The market works as if there were no minimum wage. If the minimum wage is set above the equilibrium wage rate, it has powerful effects.

If the minimum wage is set above the equilibrium wage rate, the quantity of labor supplied by workers exceeds the quantity demanded by employers. There is a surplus of labor.

Because employers cannot be forced to hire a greater quantity than they wish, the quantity of labor hired at the minimum wage is less than the quantity that would be hired in an unregulated labor market.

Because the legal wage rate cannot eliminate the surplus, the minimum wage creates unemployment .