Washington 1st US state to top $9 hourly minimum wage
—————————————————————————————————
Washington will become the first U.S. state to require a minimum wage of more than $9 an hour when it joins seven other states on Sunday in automatically adjusting salaries to keep up with inflation.
More than a million low-wage U.S. workers will see their hourly pay go up after the adjustment but many will remain in the ranks of the working poor in a country where nearly one in six live below the official poverty line, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics.
Based on a typical 2,000-hour work year, the wage increases that take effect on New Year’s Day in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Washington translate into annual salaries for minimum-wage workers of between $15,280 and $18,080.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-rt-usa-economywagen1e7bs05v-20111231,0,1179630.story
