The answer is “yes,” if you’re one of the 647,000 minimum wage earners in Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont, or Washington. These seven states are all raising their 2011 minimum wages, according to Consumer Affairs.
The raises themselves aren’t much: Washington boasts the highest increase of 12 cents to $8.67, which will add some $20 a month to its employee’s paychecks. However, this is still much higher than the federal level of federal level of $7.25, which has been increased only three times in the last 30 years.
National Employment Law Project (NELP), an employment advocacy group maintains that even the smallest increase in pay can make a big difference to workers in the current economy. Right now, one out of every seven Americans relies on food stamps — but that number could decrease significantly if minimum wages were more frequently adjusted to reflect inflation.
As for the forty-three states not raising minimum wages, there is a chance that they will pass legislation at a later time. However, the NELP reports that none have current plans to do so.
Source: Consumer Affairs