TL;DR
18 states and 20 cities and counties in the US have raised their minimum wage, with some states increasing it to $15 an hour. The federal minimum wage remains at $7.25 an hour, unchanged for over a decade.
Americans across the country are ringing in the new year with a raise. According to a recent CNNMoney article , 18 states and around 20 cities and counties now have a higher minimum wage that took effect on December 31 and January 1. For some states, the increase was as high as $15 an hour, which many advocates for higher wages argue is the “living wage.”
Although many of the states are seeing slight increases, workers are excited to see any type of bump. Some areas of California and Washington will see the highest wages at $15 to $15.64 an hour, while Missouri workers are celebrating a fifteen-cent increase from $7.70 to $7.85, accounting for inflation.
Congress has not voted to raise the federal minimum wage in more than a decade from $7.25 an hour.
In this story
This story was originally published in 1851 Franchise on January 2, 2018. Burnaze summarizes and links to the original reporting.
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