Ohio’s minimum wage increasing on New Year’s Day

Bloomberg photo by Daniel Acker

By Staff and wire reports from
Springfield News-Sun

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Ohio’s minimum wage increases Wednesday to $8.70 an hour for non-tipped employees and $4.35 an hour for tipped employees.

The new minimum will apply to employees of businesses with annual gross receipts of more than $319,000 per year.
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The increase is mandated by a state constitutional amendment, approved by voters in 2006, which adjusts the state minimum wage based on the previous year’s inflation rate.

The change will benefit 84,000 of Ohio’s lowest paid working people, two-thirds of whom are adults, according to progressive policy group Ohio Policy Matters.

Nationwide, minimum wages will go up in 22 states in the new year, increasing pay for 6.8 million workers across the country, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

Ohio is among seven states where minimum wage earners will see their pay grow because of automatic annual inflation adjustments, the institute said.

Businesses have often said that increases in minimum wages could lead to layoffs or increase the cost of their products and services.
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Supporters of increasing minimum wages, such as Policy Matters Ohio, have said the raises lead to economic growth, via increased consumer spending.

Click here to read full article on Springfield News-Sun.