Starting January 1, 21 states and 41 counties and cities will raise the minimum wage for workers;
and throughout 2023 a total of 27 states and 59 counties and cities will increase that salary limit, according to a report by the National Employment Law Project published by the newspaper USA Today
Massachusetts and Washington will set the minimum at $15 an hour for the first time, at the level of California and most of New York.
Minimum wage increases rarely coincide with the rise in inflation, which cuts the purchasing power of workers who earn the least, especially this year in which prices have increased by 7.1% on average (waiting for know the final indicator for December), setting historical records such as 9.1% in June.
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In
Alaska
, the minimum wage will go up from $9.75 to $10.85.
In
Arizona
, it will go up from $12.80 to $13.85.
In
California
it will go up from $15 to $15.50.
In
Colorado
it will go up from $12.56 to $13.65.
In
Delaware
it will be set at $11.75 on track to reach $15 in 2025. In
Illinois
it will be at $13 with the same goal in 2025. In
Maine
it will go from $12.75 to $13.80.
In
Maryland
it will remain between $12.80 (small businesses) and $13.25 (large businesses), with a goal of $15 by 2025/26.
In
Massachusetts
it will go from $14.25 to $15, in the last step of that gradual increase.
In
Michigan
it will be $10.10 (the goal is $12.05 by 2030, but it is being litigated in court).
In
Minnesota
it will go from $7.75 (for small businesses) and $9.50 (for large businesses) to $8.63 and $10.59, respectively.
In
Missouri
, the $12 goal set in previous gradual increases will be reached;
in
Nebraska
, where it hasn't increased since 2015, it will go from $9 to $10.50 with a goal of $15 by 2026, thanks to a ballot initiative passed in November.
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In
New Jersey
it will be $14 (but $12.70 for small businesses and seasonal jobs; and $11.70 for farmers).
In
New Mexico
it will reach the $12 set as the goal of a progressive annual increase;
In
New York
it will remain at $15 for the city, Long Island and Westchester County;
but will go up to $14.20 in the rest of the state).
In
Rhode Island
it will be set at $13 with a goal of $15 by 2025. In
South Dakota
it will go from $8.50 to $10.80.
In
Vermont
it will be set at $13.18.
In
Virginia
it will go up to $12 on the way to $15 in 2026. And in
Washington
it will go to $15.74.
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Yannet Lathrop, an analyst with the National Employment Law Project, told USA TODAY that $15 is the goal for many states.
Eight states will reach it by 2026 with incremental annual increases, including Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, Nebraska, Delaware, Virginia, and Rhode Island.
Hawaii will arrive in 2028, putting 14 states (with about 41% of the total labor force) at that level.
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Another 36 locations, including two dozen in California, will exceed that goal by January 2023.
Denver
will go from $15.87 to $17.29;
Minneapolis
from $15 to $15.19 and
Seattle
from $17.27 to $18.69.
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Companies like Amazon, Costco, Target and Best Buy have also set $15 as their hourly minimum wage.
The minimum wage set at
the federal level
is $7.25 dollars and has not changed since 2009 due to the blockade of Republican congressmen.
According to USA Today, only about 30 states have a higher minimum wage.