*** Nearly 10 million Americans will get raises from minimum wage hikes in 2024: study ***
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A new year will bring more pay for millions of Americans, according to a new study from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).
On New Year's Day, 22 states will raise their minimum wage, giving nearly 9.9 million Americans a pay raise. In total, workers will receive $6.95 billion in additional wages from the increases.
In addition, 38 cities and counties will increase their minimum wages on January 1, rising above their state floors and adding to the number of workers who will see any increase in their paychecks.
The analysis by EPI shows that women will make up more than half — 57.9 percent — of the workers getting an increase on the first day of 2024.
Minimum wage increases will also disproportionately help Black and Hispanic workers, EPI argued.
African Americans make up nine percent of the workforce in states with increases, but 11 percent of the workers are affected by the increases. Meanwhile, Hispanic workers make up 19.6 percent of the state's workforce, but nearly 40 percent of the ones earning an increase.
The increases will also benefit families, with more than a quarter (25.8 percent) of affected workers being parents, equating to more than 2.5 million people. As a whole, 5.6 million children are living in a homes where an individual will receive a minimum wage increase.
Workers and families in need will earn support from the increases. Almost one in five of the workers getting a raise have incomes below the poverty line and an even higher 47 percent have incomes two times below the poverty line.
Individuals in California, Hawaii, and New York make up 51 percent of those earning a raise, all states with high costs of living.
The twenty-two states increasing their minimum wage in the new year are:
• Maine
• Vermont
• Washington
• Montana
• Minnesota
• Michigan
• Illinois
• New York
• Rhode Island
• South Dakota
• Ohio
• New Jersey
• Connecticut
• California
• Colorado
• Nebraska
• Missouri
• Maryland
• Delaware
• Arizona
• Alaska
• Hawaii
Hawaii is the state with the highest increase, growing to $14 an hour, a two-dollar increase. This translates to a boost of $1,380 in annual wages for the average, full-time and year-round worker.
Michigan is the state with the smallest increase, going from $10.10 an hour to $10.33, translating to an additional $216 a year for the average full-time worker.
A case before the Michigan Supreme Court could increase that amount for low-wage workers.
Among other notable increases, the minimum wages in Maryland, New Jersey, and upstate New York will equal or exceed $15 an hour for the first time, joining the rest of New York, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Washington as the only states with minimum wages at or above $15 an hour.
Seven states have passed legislation or ballot measures to reach or exceed $15 an hour. The states are Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Nebraska, Rhode Island and Virginia.
Over 17 million workers still earn less than $15 an hour, according to EPI, and 47.8 percent of those people live in one of the 20 states that use the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.
From
thehill.com/business/4378361…
