ST PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota's minimum wage will get a small increase when it is adjusted for inflation starting on Friday, Jan. 1.
According to the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), the minimum wage for large employers in Minnesota will increase by eight cents to $10.08 per hour. Under state law, a "large employer" is considered to be a business with gross revenues of $500,000 or more annually.
The minimum wage for smaller employers (with annual revenues below $500,000), training wages, and youth wages (for employees younger than 18 years of age) will also increase slightly, from the current $8.15 per hour to $8.21 per hour.
The state rates do not apply to workers in Minneapolis or St. Paul, since those cities have separate, higher minimum wage rates.
The department notes that, when adjusted for inflation, Minnesota's current $10 minimum wage for large employers in 2020 was actually lower than the average federal minimum wage between 1960-1980, which would be $10.64 at today's prices.
DLI said there were more than 200,000 jobs in Minnesota that paid the minimum wage or less as of February 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic began to affect the economy.
