August 6, 2019
The hourly retail minimum wage is the highest it has been since the end of 2003, primarily due to top retailer support for increased pay.
Average earnings hit $16.65 an hour last month, according to a Newsday report, thanks to a 5.1 percent surge in 2018 — the biggest wage growth for nonsupervisory retail workers in 38 years, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
The retail worker wage, however, still lags behind many other industry hourly pay rates, according to the report — about 29% less than the average of all nonsupervisory workers.
Retail titans Walmart and Target have been steadfastly promoting increasing the minimum wage with Walmart raising its hourly pay to $9 four years ago and $11 as of this year. Target's hourly pay is $13, but the retailer has promised to make it $15 next year.
