Almost half of the states in the U.S. will see a minimum wage increase in 2020.
Pay increases are set to take effect in 20 states and more than two dozen cities and counties on Jan. 1. New York raised its minimum wage Dec. 31. Another 4 states and 22 cities and counties will raise theirs later in the year.
The current federal minimum wage of $7.25 hasn't moved in a decade — thelongest time the country has gone without raising the pay floor. So cities and states have taken it upon themselves to raise it.
National Employment Law Project says the latest pay increases "will put much-needed money into the hands of the lowest-paid workers."
The House approved a bill in July that would raise the federal minimum wage to $15, but the bill stalled in the Senate.
Opponents say a wage increase of that amount could force employers to cut back staff. And a 2019 study by the Congressional Budget Office projected just that. It estimated that raising the national minimum wage to $15 an hour would cause 1.3 million people to lose their jobs. That same study estimates the increase could boost the pay of 27 million workers.
Additional reporting from Newsy affiliate CNN.
