As of January 31, some state workers in Pennsylvania received a raise, thanks to a boost to the Pennsylvania minimum wage. A staff report from 6abc tallied the details.

Governor Tom Wolf has increased the minimum wage for commonwealth employees to $15 per hour.

“Increases in the minimum wage raise employee morale, productivity and work quality, while lowering turnover and training costs,” said Wolf. “Accelerating the increase to $15 will better align worker salaries with the current cost of living, while providing even greater cost and efficiency savings for state government.”

He also took this opportunity to call on the general assembly to follow his example and raise the minimum wage for all Pennsylvania workers. The minimum wage in the state is $7.25 and has remained unchanged for the past 13 years.

All of the Keystone State’s neighbors already have minimum wages that are higher than $7.25 an hour. Several of them also have further increases planned for 2022.

As of the start of the year, local per-hour minimum wages were:

• $8.75 in West Virginia
• $9.30 in Ohio
• $10.50 in Delaware
• $12.20 in Maryland
• $13 in New Jersey
• $13.20 in New York

Read more about the new minimum wage for state workers at 6abc.

A news report from 2021 looks at Pennsylvania’s minimum wage debate.