Federal minimum wage will increase to $7.25

New Yorkers earning minimum wage will make ten cents more per hour when the federal minimum wage increases from $6.55 to $7.25 on Friday.

In Jan. 2007, the state's minimum wage rose to $7.15, which is the current rate in New York. This is lower than that of 13 states and Washington, D.C. States with a minimum above the federal minimum wage will be unaffected.

Approximately 123,000 workers in New York will be affected by the increase, according to a statement released this morning by the Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization. Under the new federal increase, a full-time worker who makes minimum wage will now net $15,080 per year, which is a 1.4 percent raise for New Yorkers.

The FPI also reports that a majority of New Yorkers affected by the wage increase are aged 20 or older.

New York State does not index the minimum wage to cost-of-living increases, so the wage does not increase with inflation, making it difficult for workers making small wages to adjust when prices for goods and services increase.