In Minnesota, the minimum wage is increasing at 2023 kicks off.
The minimum wage is rising from $10.33/hr to $10.59/hr for large employers with over half a million dollars in annual revenue and from $8.42/hr to $8.63/hr for smaller businesses. The new minimum wage went into effect as of January 1st.
This increase is part of Minnesota state policy that incrementally raises minimum wage annually, measured against inflation.
While the approach has been praised for Minnesota’s attempt to curb the issue of stagnant minimum wages within the state, an issue every state in the U.S. is facing, critics of the policy argue that the increases, in light of the current economic climate, are not enough to combat current cost of living concerns for those working minimum wage jobs. With large employers minimum wage only increasing by 2.45% and small employers raising by 2.43%, these numbers are dwarfed by 2022’s average inflation rate of 7.86%.
While inflation has been on the decline in recent months, and is expected to continue to fall, murmurs of economic recession can be heard from economists around the country. However, what they seem to disagree on is the time of recession in 2023, as well as it’s severity.