January has been rough. COVID-19 infections spiked, consumer prices surged and Congress has been unable to pass a new economic relief package that would extend monthly child tax credits and provide paid leave for workers.

But here’s a bit of good news: Millions of low-paid workers just got a raise.

Twenty-one states and 35 municipalities hiked their minimum wages in January, according to the National Employment Law Project. Another four states will do so later this year. That’s a record number, with roughly half providing workers at least $15 an hour — a figure that labor activists have long argued is the lowest livable wage. This month’s raises range from 22 cents an hour in Michigan to $1.50 an hour in Virginia.

It’s hard to tell how many workers will see their paychecks grow, considering the current volatile job market, says Julia Wolfe, a state economic analyst for the Economic Policy Institute. But roughly 39 million people — 28% of the workforce — earned less than $15 dollars an hour in 2019, before the pandemic hit.

Black women and Latinas made up the largest share of this group. That’s why minimum-wage hikes tend to benefit women of color the most, particularly those in the service economy, said Wolfe.

“Lots of these workers, we think of as front-line workers and essential workers,” said Wolfe, whose organization supports the Raise the Wage Act, which would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024.

While the recent pay raises are reason to celebrate,...

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