On Jan. 1, Arizona’s minimum wage was set to increase by $1.05 to $13.85 an hour, according to the Industrial Commission of Arizona.
The increase is directly tied to the 8.3% increase in inflation from August 2021 to August 2022.
Yet while inflation spurred the latest increase, consumer price pressures and other economic issues already forced Arizona employers to pay well above the minimum wage in 2022 and most likely going forward in 2023.
Several employers – especially in the retail, restaurant, hospitality and logistics industries – say they need to pay a lot more than minimum wage to attract and retain employees. The owners of Gadzooks Enchiladas & Soup, a local chain with a handful of locations across the Valley, told the Business Journal that they don’t even come close to paying minimum wage anymore.
According to the latest wage and occupation data from the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity, which is for the full year of 2021, the average hourly wage across the state was $26.53 in 2021. The entry-level hourly wage averaged $14.03 in 2021.
Looking even more specifically in the Phoenix metro area, the average entry level hourly wage was $14.30 and the average wage was $27.22.
Of the 22 industries examined in the 2021 wage and occupation data, all of them in the Phoenix area paid over $13 an hour, higher than the minimum wage at the time and all but five – health care support, sales, personal care and services, building and grounds cleaning and maintenance, and...
Park Filed Complaint Against President Lee Ahead of 2021 Election Jang Youngha Sentenced to One Year in Prison, Two Years Probation Confirmed The police have launched an investigation into Park Chu...