Florida’s minimum wage workers get a raise this week. Here’s how much
Florida’s minimum wage will increase to $11 an hour on Friday, the second boost in a series of annual raises that will eventually bring it to $15 an hour.
The pay raise is a result of an amendment to the Florida Constitution that 61% of voters approved in a 2020 ballot measure. Florida’s previous $8.56 an hour minimum wage was brought up to $10 in 2021 and will increase by $1 every year on Sept. 30 until it reaches $15 in 2026.
Florida was the first state in the South to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. The increase was considered a major victory for labor rights advocates and minimum wage workers, who have struggled to make ends meet as the minimum wage has not kept up with inflation and the rising cost of living. Eleven states have passed measures to bring the minimum wage up to $15.
The new $11 an hour minimum wage is still far below what experts say it takes to live in South Florida. According to MIT’s living wage calculator, a worker with one child needs to make $35.34 an hour to be able to afford to live in Miami-Dade County.
Ned Murray, associate director of the Metropolitan Center at Florida International University, specializes in economic and housing market issues and said that the two-year-old ballot measure is already outdated when looking at the current economy.
“It’s inconsequential given inflation and housing costs,” Murray said. “Everything’s changed in the past two years and right now there’s such a mismatch between what workers need in terms of income and what employers are able to pay.”
Some business associations fought the change, citing worries that the increase would put too much financial strain on small businesses, while others campaigned for it. Jennifer Todd, the owner of LMS General Contractors based in Pompano Beach, is a member of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, a national coalition of business owners that campaigns for minimum wage increases. Todd has 10 employees and said she welcomes the increase. She pays trainees minimum wage and employees $12 to $13 an hour.
“Our wages have been above minimum wage and we keep up with increases to make sure we’re staying competitive,” she said. “It’s long overdue. Living in Miami is expensive and I don’t want employees worrying about not being able to pay their bills or put food on the table. If you want your business to excel, your employees have to value their work and be paid fairly.”
Todd said that businesses should embrace the change and make a strategic plan for wage increases.
“Increasing labor costs is something you inevitably deal with all the time as a business owner. Cost of living and inflation will always go up,” she said. “I would hope they want to retain the best workers and if you want to put out the best product or service, why wouldn’t you want to pay workers fairly?”
Murray pointed out that low wages are a driving factor in the labor shortage that has persisted since pandemic lockdowns.
“The minimum wage needs to be reevaluated given the current circumstances, you’d think that the Legislature would take that into consideration,” he said. “We have to think about how you deal with and maintain a more resilient economy. The first thing to do is to make sure wages keep pace with cost of living.”
