It's a very merry Christmas for certain workers in eight states: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington will all increase their minimum wage on Jan. 1. The jumps range from 28 cents to 37 cents per hour, and take the states' respective wages to an hourly low of $7.64 (Colorado) and an hourly high of $9.04 (Washington); the federal minimum wage is $7.25. CNN notes that the increases aren't born from the goodness of these states' hearts: Laws set in these states require that the wage keeps up with inflation.
The increase will alter the paychecks of some 1.4 million Americans; those working full-time will see an annual bump of about $582 to $770, according to estimates by the National Employment Law Project. That additional money in Americans' wallets could lead to more good news: It has the potential to add as much as $366 million to our GDP, and fuel the creation of 3,000 new jobs. Washington, DC, along with 18 states, currently have wages above the federal level. Click to find out which place's new minimum wage tops $10. (More minimum wage stories.)
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