About 100,000 low-paid New Jersey workers will get a pay increase next year, when the state minimum wage rises by 6 cents to $8.44 an hour.
NJPP policy analyst Brandon McKoy talked to NJTV News about the wage hike and the fact that it really won’t do much to truly boost New Jersey’s workers.
“It’ll help them afford a couple basic daily needs like groceries, maybe a few emergencies here and there. But it really is not enough,” he said.
McKoy says Jersey’s an expensive place to live, and calculates even the most affordable areas require a $14.80 living wage. This six-cent raise — driven by an increase in the national Consumer Price Index — amounts to an extra $402 in 2017.
“It doesn’t matter who you are or where you work. The fact of the matter is a $15 minimum wage is what’s necessary to live in New Jersey,” said McKoy.
