A pay raise is on the way for millions of American workers next year.
On Jan. 1, minimum wage rates will climb in 19 states and 49 cities and counties across the US.
That’s good news for many Americans struggling to make ends meet as prices on everything from groceries to electric bills continue to climb.
The bigger picture is that raising the minimum wage is just one piece of a much larger fight for a good jobs economy rooted in living wages and good benefits for every working person. That’s where we need to get to.
“The cost of living has been top of mind for workers,” said Yannet Lathrop, senior researcher and policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project, which rounded up the minimum wage increases taking effect soon. “Paychecks are just not covering the basic necessities for workers and families at the lower end of the pay scale.”
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“The upcoming minimum wage increases are incremental and won’t magically turn severely underpaid jobs into living-wage jobs, but they do offer a bit of relief at a time when every dollar matters for people,” Lathrop said.
“The bigger picture is that raising the minimum wage is just one piece of a much larger fight for a good jobs economy rooted in living wages and good benefits for every working person. That’s where we need to get to,” she added.
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Read the full story at finance.yahoo.com.
