The minimum wage is set to increase in 22 states on Jan. 1, 2024.
Why it matters: For Americans making minimum wage, it’s an automatic raise — but it also ripples out. Typically, increasing the wage floor for the lowest earners pushes up pay for those who make a bit more than the minimum, as employers have to adjust pay scales upwards.
The big picture: More states are requiring a $15 an hour minimum wage — including New York, Maryland, and New Mexico — a dozen years after Fight for $15 kicked off its campaign.
- Thanks to inflation, the dollar amount doesn’t quite mean what it used to.
Zoom in: In 13 states wages are going up because they’re indexed to inflation, including California, Ohio and South Dakota.
- Three more states and Washington, D.C., are set to raise the wage later in the year.
- The last time the federal minimum wage ($7.25) was increased was in 2009…..