PORTLAND, Ore. — More than 20 states, including Oregon and Washington, are set to raise the minimum wage next year.
Workers in the Portland metro area currently make $16.30 an hour, and $15.05 in most counties.
The Oregon State Labor Department says those rates will go up on July 1, 2026 based on inflation.
Meanwhile, Washington will hike the minimum wage to $17.13 an hour on January 1.
The wage increase in both states is more than double the federal minimum wage, which was last raised in 2009 to $7.25 an hour.
One expert says while it’s good news, however, it’s not going to solve the affordability crisis.
“It will definitely help people at the lower end of the income distribution, [because] wealth inequality in the United States, where the difference between the 1 percenters and the 99 percenters, is staggeringly large,” said Professor of Economics at Rochester Institute of Technology Amit Batabyal.
The bureau of labor statistics says the amount of hourly workers who earned the federal minimum wage or less last year was around one percent.
Economists say small changes in wages don’t have a huge effect on businesses. They say companies will either absorb the costs or raise prices for consumers.
