KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Missouri is among the 13 states that will see an increase in their state’s minimum wage during the upcoming year.
Beginning on Wednesday of this week, as many are ringing in the New Year, minimum wage workers in Missouri and 12 other states will begin receiving higher paychecks.
In Missouri, workers will see a $0.15 bump to $7.50 an hour. For many, it will help with the annual cost of living adjustments.
The increases are coming as a national debate brews over low wages and income inequality. Fast food and retail workers have been staging protests and walking off work for more than a year, calling for better pay.
Other state increases include New York, whose minimum wage went from $7.25 to $8.00 an hour, and Washington state, whose went from $9.19 to $9.32 per hour.
Missouri and Ohio are the only two Midwestern states to give their workers an automatic pay raise.
President Obama supports legislation in congress to lift the federal minimum wage in stages as well. The federal minimum wage hasn’t seen an increase since 2009. And while as many as 11 more states are considering an increase this year, those against the increases believe that raising employer expenses will lead to layoffs.
