Minimum wage to jump to $15

While many are excited about the idea of a $15 minimum wage, the process will take time. Those hoping to see that big jump in pay will have to wait about six years to do so.

Governor Jerry Brown did indeed announce the landmark agreement to raise California’s minimum wage to 15-dollars an hour for businesses with 25 employees or more, however that won’t actually go into effect until the year 2022. Under the plan, California’s minimum wage will raise 50-cents to $10.50 on January 1st, then to $11 at the beginning of 2018, and one dollar each year thereafter until 2022. The purpose of the plan is to increase the minimum wage over time while staying consistent with economic expansion, something business owners are content with.

“I’m grateful cause now we have a target. 2022 is the target, we know it’s coming, we can plan for that. It’s important in our business to plan and project what our costs are going to be. Beforehand, we’ve never known for sure, they could raise it to anything, but now we know,” said business owner Landon Hofman.

Hofman also says that raising the minimum wage could potentially lead to
higher costs and prices for businesses, which could offset the big pay increase. Right now there are around 7-million hourly workers in California. Around 2.2 million of them are receiving minimum wage.

Now assuming inflation doesn’t drastically affect the economy over the next six years, workers will be happy to hear these numbers: A full-time, minimum-wage worker will annually make nearly 21-thousand dollars this year. In 2022, that same worker will bring home over 31-thousand.