Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont said the state’s minimum wage will increase from the current rate of $13.00 per hour to $14.00 per hour beginning Friday, July 1.
“This is part of what we’re trying to do to make this a more equal and just society,” Lamont said during a visit to the Bridgeport-based Full Circle Youth Empowerment. “It’s also to give everybody an incentive to get to work. I need everybody wanting to get to work and work has got to pay.”
Lamont was joined by several state legislators along with Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim.
Ganim said the increase will mainly help young workers who fill minimum wage jobs.
He also said nonprofit groups like Full Circle Youth Empowerment can help educate the city’s youth with smart money management decisions as they prepare for their future careers.
“This is very important,” Ganim said. “I think Bridgeport, New Haven, Hartford — cities especially — it makes a difference in their lives with all the many challenges going on.”
The change is the result of legislation Lamont signed into law three years ago that gradually increases the minimum wage from $10.10 per hour in 2019 to $15 per hour in 2023.
