At the start of this year, Washington’s state-wide minimum wage increased by 5.843%, from 13.69 per hour to 14.49 per hour. Keep in mind that this wage increase does not affect individuals who live in cities like Seattle that have established a local minimum wage. This full 80 cent increase may help combat the labor shortage within the state, and it should provide support to the employed residents of cities without a citywide national wage.
This new value is now nearly double that of the federal $7.25 per hour minimum wage. For minimum wage workers, this change won’t affect you directly and you won’t need to do anything different to receive. Employers should be sure to have planned for this change ahead of time and have communicated with the Washington State Labor and Industry department if they have any questions about their local minimum wage.
While there are no more projected wage increases planned yet in 2023 for the WA state minimum wage, the state plans on watching the effects of this wage change and creating a plan for future wage increases. As the labor shortage in Washington State continues, this will both give minimum wage workers a respite as well as additional incentive to work in Washington.
