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Ten million Americans will receive pay raises in 2024

"In the absence of federal action, states continue to take the lead in promoting fairer minimum wage levels," according to a report by the Economic Policy Institute.

El crecimiento del empleo vs salarios bajos

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Published by
Verónica Silveri Pazos

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A new study from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) revealed that in 2024 around ten million Americans will receive wage increases:

On January 1, 22 states will increase their minimum wages, which will mean a pay increase for about 9.9 million workers. In total, workers will receive $6.95 billion in additional wages thanks to state minimum wage increases.

The report argued that "in the absence of federal action, states and localities continue to take the lead in promoting fairer minimum wage levels through legislation, ballot measures, and automatic adjustments for inflation."

States that are increasing wages

The study reported that there are 17.6 million citizens who receive a salary of less than 15 dollars an hour and that almost half of these workers (47.8%) are "in one of the 20 states that still apply the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour."

California, Hawaii and New York are the states where the most workers will receive increases (representing 51% of those who will obtain it) due in part to the "high costs of living" the residents of these places suffer.

The other states are: Maine, Vermont, Washington, Montana, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Ohio, New Jersey, Connecticut, Colorado, Nebraska, Missouri, Maryland, Delaware, Arizona, Alaska;

Minimum wages in Maryland, New Jersey and upstate New York will reach or exceed $15 an hour for the first time, joining California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Washington and the rest of New York (...) Delaware , Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Nebraska, Rhode Island and Virginia have passed laws or ballot measures to reach or exceed $15 an hour in the coming years. Washington state will have the highest state minimum wage at the beginning of the year, increasing from $15.74 to $16.28 due to an inflation adjustment.

Blacks and Hispanics to benefit the most

The EPI report noted that "minimum wage increases will also disproportionately benefit Black and Hispanic workers." It reported that black employees "make up 9% of the salaried workforce in the states with increases." Likewise, Hispanics represent 19.6% of the workforce in these states. The report also revealed that "women" represent more than half (57.9%) of workers who will receive a raise on January 1."

The increases will also benefit working families. According to the study, more than a quarter (25.8%) of workers who will receive increases are parents (more than 2.5 million people). That is, "in total, 5.6 million children live in households in which one person will receive an increase in the minimum wage":

The increases will provide essential help for workers and families in need. Nearly one in five (19.7%) workers who receive a raise have incomes below the poverty line, and nearly half (47.4%) have incomes twice below the poverty line.

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