Minimum Wage Increase

Governor Rendell proposed, fought for, and signed into law the first minimum wage increase since 1997 - bringing Pennsylvania workers up to $6.25 an hour in January 2007 and then to $7.15 an hour in July 2007.

• Under Pennsylvania's old minimum wage, a full-time worker with a child would earn less than the poverty level. By increasing the minimum wage, Governor Rendell is bringing working families out of poverty.
• Two-thirds of workers who received a minimum wage increase were women; rural workers benefit the most. At the time of the increase, economists said that, in 10 rural counties at least one out of every seven workers would receive a pay raise as a result of Governor Rendell's minimum wage increase.
• Between the last minimum wage increase in 1997 and 2006, corporate executive pay had increased by 73 percent while Pennsylvania minimum-wage workers saw their salaries frozen. At the same time, minimum-wage earner rent increased by 28 percent, food costs had shot up 21 percent, and the cost of gasoline had skyrocketed by 81 percent.
• Governor Rendell championed Pennsylvania's minimum wage increase after it became clear that the federal government was not taking action to approve a nationwide minimum wage boost. In 2006, the Governor joined 19 other states and the District of Columbia in raising the minimum wage above the federal level - including four of our six neighboring states.
• The Governor's leadership is based on the moral imperative of raising the minimum wage and solid economic evidence of its positive impact. An independent national study found that small businesses grew twice as quickly in states with a higher minimum wage. In addition, under the law Governor Rendell signed, Pennsylvania's small businesses had an extra year to phase in the full minimum wage increase.