If your business is located in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont or Washington, make sure you’re prepared for an increase in minimum wage.
Rates in these states will range from $7.64 per hour (in Colorado), to $9.04 (in Washington) in 2012. The small boosts for 2012 are estimated to tack an extra $582 to $770 a year onto the paychecks of full-time workers, according to the National Employment Law Project, a non-profit advocacy group. What’s more, the increases could be a mini-boost for the economy.
The expected rise in consumer spending as a result of the wage increases would add $366 million to the nation’s gross domestic product and lead to the creation of more than 3,000 full-time jobs.
Photo by Kevin Dooley