Minimum wage increases to $7.01

TUMWATER—It may not be much, but it’s still an increase.

Workers earning minimum wage in Washington will make $7.01 per hour starting January 1, an 11-cent-an-hour-increase over the current minimum wage of $6.90. The new wage applies to workers in both agricultural and nonagricultural jobs.

Fourteen- and 15-year olds may be paid 85 percent of the adult minimum wage.

The Department of Labor and Industries recalculates the state minimum wage each year as a result of an initiative approved by voters in 1998. The initiative ties the minimum wage to changes in the federal Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).

For the 12 months ending August 2002, the nationwide CPI-W increased 1.6 percent over August 2001, mandating a 1.6 percent increase in the minimum wage.

From the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, December 26

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