That’s right, at least ten of the States have already announced increases to their minimum wage hourly pay rates going into the new 2013 calendar year. If you have workers in any of these locations: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont & Washington, be ready. Come January 1st of 2013, you’ll be dolling out more coin for employees that have been paid at, or near, the current minimum wage rates. Compensation costs already account for the single largest operating expense for most companies…and those costs are going higher.
The average increase going in to effect is 2.1%, with Rhode Island going up by over 2x that amount (up 4.9%).
Nine of the ten States that will be increasing their minimum wage rates, already have rates that are set above the federal rate of $7.25. With Missouri increasing their minimum wage rate up to $7.36/hour, we will have twenty States requiring wage rates higher than the federal mandate.