Over the past year, historically strong wage growth hasn’t kept pace with skyrocketing inflation, leaving millions of low- to middle-income Americans struggling to pay their bills.
Starting New Year’s Day, the lowest-paid workers will make up a good chunk of that lost ground.
Twenty-one states and 41 cities and counties are poised to raise their minimum wages on or about Jan. 1, according to a report provided exclusively to USA TODAY by the National Employment Law Project (NELP), a worker advocacy group.
Two states, Massachusetts and Washington, will reach a $15 hourly pay floor for the first time, joining California and much of New York.
Because some governments will act later in the year, a total 27 states and 59 cities and counties – a record 86 jurisdictions – will increase their base pay sometime in 2023, according to NELP.
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“The movement to raise wages continues to gain momentum,” said Yannet Lathrop, NELP’s senior researcher and policy analyst.
How does inflation affect the minimum wage?
Typically, the annual minimum wage hikes dole out the largest increases to workers in states or localities taking a step in a planned series of bumps over several years.
Other states nudge up their pay floors by…
