Minimum wage going up
By Seattle Business Magazine October 18, 2010
Washington State’s minimum wage will increase to $8.67 per hour beginning January 1, 2011, according to a press release issued by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries last week.
Washington’s minimum wage is calculated each year and adjusted according to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). The CPI-W has fallen for the past two years, so the minimum wage has stayed the same. This year, the index increased 1.4 percent, leading to a 12-cent increase for the state’s minimum wage.
Washington is one of ten states, along with Oregon, Vermont, Ohio, Nevada, Montana, Missouri, Florida, Colorado, and Arizona, that adjusts the minimum wage based on inflation and the CPI, according to the press release.