On January 1st, Washington’s minimum wage will be the highest in the nation.
Anacortes, Wash. — On January 1st, the minimum wage in Washington will jump to $15.74 an hour.
With a price increase of $1.25, it is the highest in the country.
Waitress Caixa Paul works at Rockfish Grill in Anacortes to feed her family of three. She appreciates her pending raise, but also knows it won’t go too far.
“Every time our salary goes up, it feels like the cost of living goes up even more,” she said.
Labor is 50% of the cost at the beloved brewpub. These costs, and many others, are now increasing, making it difficult to balance your business.
Rockfish Grill owner Allen Rhoades said rising wages and rising food costs are just two factors that will determine how he will run his business next year.
“We ask ourselves what we can change and what we can reduce,” he said. “I just got a notice from Washington state that the L&I rate is going up and the unemployment rate is going up.
Voters approved a statewide minimum wage increase in 2016. Since then, his hourly wage has risen steadily each year, from $9.47 an hour to where he is now nearing $16.
The tax hike will squeeze profits, but it remains unclear how much it will affect the local economy.
Hart Hodges, co-director of the Center for Economics and Business Studies at Western Washington University, doesn’t expect it to be serious. A tight labor market is already forcing many small businesses to pay above the minimum wage, he said.
“We were asking for $15 an hour before COVID, so we’ve already made a lot of adjustments,” Hodges said. “This particular increase in minimum wage is not going to have much of an impact.”
As one of Washington’s estimated 100,000 minimum wage workers, Kaisha keeps smiling.
Despite inflation, a possible recession, and a new uncertain new year, she remains hopeful.
“I try to be as optimistic as I can, but I have a son who will be starting college soon, so I can’t help but worry,” she said.
