Millions of workers are getting a raise as new minimum wage laws kick in

Yahoo

a day ago

Thousands of workers across the country will see their pay increase as new minimum wage laws take effect this month.
The minimum wage rose starting July 1 for more than 880,000 workers in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington, D.C. In D.C., the city's minimum wage increases from $17.50 per hour to $17.95 per hour.
A dozen cities and counties, including Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, are also raising their minimum wage.
Nearly 6 in 10 workers who will see a bump are women and nearly half work full-time, according to a report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).
Minimum wage increases are a key to helping people keep up with inflation, which hit a four-decade high of 9.1% in mid-2022 before sliding back to 2.4% recently.
'There's no doubt there is an affordability crisis throughout the country, and these increases will provide needed relief to workers struggling to pay for the basics,' Yannet Lathrop, senior researcher and policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project, told Yahoo Finance. 'But more raises are needed, especially at the federal level, where Congress has let the minimum wage languish at $7.25 an hour for more than 15 years."
According to EPI's Minimum Wage Tracker, 30 states and D.C. have a higher minimum wage than the federal minimum.
Read more: How much of your paycheck should you save?
Here's a rundown of the wage hikes this summer:
Some of these increases are earmarked for certain sectors. In California, for example, the wage hike is for healthcare sector workers, and the amount depends on the type of facility. The top tier is now a minimum of $24 an hour.
In Alaska, the minimum wage jumps from $11.73 to $13 an hour, part of legislation to reach $15 by 2027.
In Oregon, depending on the location, wages will increase to $14.05 an hour in non-urban areas, $16.30 an hour in the Portland metro area, and $15.05 in the rest of the state. It's less than a dollar increase per tier.
Ten cities and counties in California will see small increases to account for inflation, including Berkeley, Los Angeles, and San Francisco: The wage goes to $19.18 an hour, from $18.67.
In Chicago, the pay floor goes to $16.60 for businesses with four or more employees, up from $16.20.
Three cities in Washington state are due for wage increases based on a business's number of employees: Burien, Everett, and Renton.
In many cities, minimum wage is linked to whether or not you also get paid in tips. In some areas, the minimum wage required for tipped employees also increases with the minimum wage.
The bulk of pay increases kicked off on Jan. 1 as 21 states and 48 cities raised their minimum wage rates. Some places, however, schedule their changes at another point during the year. For example, Florida's minimum wage will increase $1.00 to $14.00 per hour on Sept. 30.
Read more: 5 smart ways to use a raise or year-end bonusAll told, 88 jurisdictions across 23 states were set to see minimum wage hikes by the end of 2025, according to a report by the National Employment Law Project.
Those pay raises this year will directly affect more than 3 million workers earning minimum wage and indirectly nudge up pay for more than 6.2 million higher-paid employees because of the domino effects on company pay structures, according to the Economic Policy Institute data.
Kerry Hannon is a Senior Columnist at Yahoo Finance. She is a career and retirement strategist and the author of 14 books, including the forthcoming "Retirement Bites: A Gen X Guide to Securing Your Financial Future," "In Control at 50+: How to Succeed in the New World of Work," and "Never Too Old to Get Rich." Follow her on Bluesky.
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