Minimum wage workers in Tukwila got a big pay bump on Saturday.
For companies with more than 500 employees workers are now earning $18.99 an hour. For smaller companies, the rate is now $16.99 an hour.
Both are a significant bump up from the State minimum wage of $15.74. The increase aims to keep more workers in Tukwila.
This new law was passed by Tukwila voters back in November with 83% approval.
For some more context, this comes after the State minimum wage went up $1.25 at the beginning of the year to the highest in the country at $15.74.
That bump was because of inflation and the cost of living.
According to the Washington Employment Security Department, the State’s average wage grew by 2% to $84,167 in 2022. The average weekly wage rose from $1,586 in 2021 to $1,618 in 2022. However, those figures include only those wages that are covered by unemployment insurance.
“The increase was driven by a 5.5% increase in employment covered through unemployment insurance and a 7.6% increase in total wages and salaries, which grew by nearly $20.3 billion in 2022.” said the Washington Employment Security Department.
The industries with the largest average wage growth in 2022, according to the Washington Employment Security Department, were:
- Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services, up 8.8%.
- Accommodation and food services, up 7.9%.
- Public administration, up 5.1%.
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