Shelly Banjo, Columnist

The Minimum Wage Is Still Going Up

States and competitive pressures are pushing labor costs higher.

November 9, 2016 at 4:55 PM UTC

Shelly Banjo leads the global business team for Bloomberg News in New York. A former New York bureau chief and senior tech writer, she’s covered business, finance and economics for two decades.

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

This article is for subscribers only.

A Donald Trump presidential win, coupled with Republicans taking both the House and Senate, would suggest a Democratic campaign pillar -- calling to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, from the $7.25 rate set in 2009 -- is dead in the water. Not so fast.

Make no mistake, starting wages in the U.S. are still going to go up. It's a reality restaurants, retailers, hotels, and other establishments that rely on low-wage labor must reckon with as rising costs and flat-lining sales growth bite deeper into corporate profits.