ECONOMY

Minimum wage workers will soon see extra on their paychecks

A map of the minimum wage increases across Oregon starting July 1. (Courtesy/Oregon Employment Department)

Low-wage workers in Marion and Polk counties will get a 75-cent raise starting next week when the state’s minimum wage increases for the fourth time since 2016.

Workers will now be paid at least $12 an hour starting July 1, up from $11.25.

In 2016, the Legislature mandated increases to the minimum wage and varied the rises to account for economic differences in rural and urban areas.

Wages will increase an additional 75 cents in both 2021 and 2022 before becoming tethered to economic growth by linking it to inflation.

“Minimum wage increases help make sure that hardworking Oregon families can afford the essentials in our state,” Labor Commissioner Val Hoyle said in a statement.

Among Oregon’s metro area counties, Marion has the second lowest percentage of jobs paying minimum wage at 5.1%. Statewide, around 6% of all jobs paid minimum wage or less in the third quarter of 2019, according to the state Employment Department.

In Salem, the median hourly wage is $18.92, according to federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Oregon’s minimum wage increases put it on par with those set in Arizona, Colorado and Maine. Washington D.C. has the highest minimum wage at $15, followed by Washington state at $13.50.

The federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour hasn’t gone up since 2009.

Workers who aren’t receiving the correct minimum wage or don’t receive the increased minimum wage can contact BOLI to make a complaint at oregon.gov/minimumwage.

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Have a story tip? Contact reporter Saphara Harrell at 503-549-6250, [email protected] or @daisysaphara.