Michigan’s minimum wage workforce gets a pay raise on New Year’s Day.
The state’s minimum wage is increasing to $8.90 on Sunday, that’s up from the current $8.50 per hour.
Wendy Block is with the Michigan Chamber of Commerce. She says many hourly workers were already making at least that much.
“The economy has obviously helped tremendously in terms of that upward pressure on wages and really helped employees to be able to earn a higher minimum wage, or a higher wage than they would than what is mandated under state law,” says Block.
Michigan’s minimum wage is scheduled to increase to $9.25 an hour in 2018.
But that’s not enough for groups advocating for a $15 dollar-an-hour minimum wage.
“We do expect workers and advocates across the country to continue to push for higher wages, because workers simply can’t survive without them,” says Laura Huizar, with the National Employment Law Project.
Many business leaders in Michigan oppose a big jump in the minimum wage.
They say jobs may be lost as employers are slow to replace some workers and are increasingly looking to automation as a way to avoid hiring others.
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