WA minimum wage soon to rise above $9 an hour

The minimum wage in Washington state goes up 37 cents January 1, 2012 to $9.04 an hour. Washington is one of only 10 states that ensure by law that their minimum wage keeps up with inflation, which was calculated at just over 4 percent this year.

Whenever there’s a minimum wage hike, some employers claim the extra cost will put them out of business. But that has not happened, says John Schmitt, a senior economist with the Center for Economic Policy Research, who studies wage trends since the 1930s.

“What the evidence seems to suggest is that, over long periods of time, the kinds of increases i...