State increases minimum wage

Washington’s minimum wage will increase 28 cents from $7.35 an hour to $7.63 an hour beginning on January1, 2006.

The Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) recalculates the state’s minimum wage each year in September as required by Initiative 688, which was approved by Washington state voters in 1998. The law requires that the state minimum wage be adjusted each year to keep pace with the federal Consumer Price Index (CPI).

The cost of living based on the CPI increased during the last 12-month period ending in August by 3.8 percent. Comparatively, the CPI rose only 2.6 percent during the same period in 2004.