by Valerie Norton, Public Policy Fellow,
National Women’s Law Center
On Friday July 24, 2009, the last of three graduated increases to the federal minimum wage will take effect, raising the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour and giving minimum wage workers everywhere a needed boost during these difficult economic times. Congress passed the legislation enacting the graduated increase back in 2007, before the economic situation took a turn for the worst, but the final increase now comes at a time when working families are struggling to make ends meet. Women and their families particularly will benefit from the long-awaited increase because they make up 60 percent of minimum wage workers and the majority of the low wage workforce. But there are economy-wide gains being made as well. EPI has found that the first two increases in July 2007 and July 2008 generated an estimated $4.9 billion in spending, and that the upcoming increase is expected to generate an additional $5.5 billion. Thus, the increased minimum wage will provide a needed boost, not only to struggling low wage workers and their families – who are particularly vulnerable during these difficult economic times – but also to the economy as a whole.
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