The start of the new year brings with it an increase in Missouri’s minimum wage. Most Missourians at the low end of the pay scale will start earning 15 cents more per hour, from $6.50 to $6.65 an hour.
Wanda Seeney, a Public Information Administrator with the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, says the increase affects most minimum wage earners, but there are exceptions. For example, those working for retail or service businesses whose gross annual income is below $500,000 are not automatically entitled to an increase … and people who work for tips are covered by a different set of rules.
In November of 2006, voters approved an increase in the minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.50 an hour beginning January 1st of 2007, with regular increases adjusted for inflation. The 2008 increase in the minimum wage is based on a 2.2 percent change in the Consumer Price Index between July of 2006 and July of 2007.
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