Connecticut workers have one of the highest minimum wages in the country after an increase to $16.94 an hour on January 1.
The increase is good for the state’s economy, Gov. Ned Lamont said as he talked up his support for the minimum wage increase outside some small businesses in downtown Hartford on Thursday.
“I competed against companies that paid rock bottom wages," Lamont said, who used to own a small company in the cable industry.
His experience running that company informed his support for a higher minimum wage.
“I like the fact that we don’t have to compete with each other by how little we pay each other, but by the quality of our work,” Lamont said. “So, I think this is good for the Connecticut economy and good for the American worker.”
More than 160,000 Connecticut workers would benefit from the increased minimum wage, which is now connected to the U.S. Department of Labor’s employment cost index, said state Department of Labor Commissioner Dante Bartolomeo.
“Indexing the minimum wage is very important because this helps to offset inflation. And helps from having the wage gap widen even further,” Bartolomeo said.
Connecticut’s minimum wage is now the second highest in the country after Washington State’s $17.13 an hour.
New York has a split minimum wage, which is $17 in New York City, Long Island and Westchester County, and $16 an hour for the rest of the state.
The federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25 for the past 16 years.
