More than 9 million workers in 21 states will receive a pay raise starting on Wednesday due to minimum wage increases that take effect in 2025, CBS MoneyWatch reported.
The Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank, found that state legislation linking the minimum wage to inflation will cause 13 of the states to see pay increases starting in 2025. Six states recently passed bills to increase the minimum wage, and two states passed ballot measures.
The EPI estimates that more than 9.2 million people, about 20% of the workers affected by these changes, currently live below the poverty line. Twenty states still abide by the federal minimum wage, which has been $7.25 an hour since 2009.
The EPI also found that women make up more than 50% of the workers who will see a pay raise due to the minimum wage increasing in these states, while more than 25% are parents and half are full-time workers.
"The truth is the number of workers that earn $7.25 per hour is quite low, but that still means with inaction we are leaving tens of millions of workers out to dry," Sebastian Martinez Hickey, a state economic analyst with EPI, told CBS MoneyWatch, adding that the percentage of workers in states with a $15 minimum wage will increase from about 33% to nearly 50% by 2027.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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