Hourly workers in 26 states will see minimum wage hikes in 2023 — but financial analysts say the increases are lagging behind inflation and could worsen unemployment in a recession.
Half the states that have announced increases tie them annually to inflation, and some cap them “to protect against big jumps,” accounting firm Wolters Kluwer reported in an analysis.
“The high rate of inflation in the last year has had a significant impact on minimum wages in the 13 states, the District of Columbia and the numerous cities and counties that tie their minimum wage rate to the Consumer Price Index,” Deirdre Kennedy, senior payroll analyst at Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.