Need Some Good News? Michigan’s Minimum Wage is Increasing After New Year

I think we could all use a bit of good news right about now.

This is especially good for those currently making minimum wage because Michigan's minimum wage is going to be increasing in just a few weeks.

According to WILX, Michigan's minimum wage increases on January 1st, 2022. The raise comes as "part of the Improved Workforce Opportunity Act of 2018, which established an annual scheduled increase in the state minimum wage."

How Much Will Michigan's Minimum Wage Be?

The minimum wage in Michigan currently sits at $9.65. On January 1st, it'll go up 22 cents for a grand total of $9.87 per hour. For tipped hourly workers, the increase will take minimum wage up to $3.75 an hour.

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For a minimum wage worker who works 28 hours a week, that adds up to about $320 more a year. For a minimum wage worker, that adds up to about $457.

Is Minimum Wage Enough to Live?

While this slight increase in minimum is nice, is it enough?

Click On Detroit reports that even with the increase in the minimum wage, it will still be less than a liveable wage. Click On Detroit used MIT's Living Wage calculator, "which estimates an adult without children needs to make at least $13.63 per hour to support themselves. That number goes up to $31.15 for an adult with one child."

At the beginning of 2021, there were talks of increasing the federal minimum wage up to $15 per hour by 2025. Click On Detroit reported that according to a 2019 report from the Congressional Budget Office, raising the federal minimum wage to $15 could alleviate many problems, including reducing poverty. The report mentioned that a $15 an hour wage "would lift 1.3 million people above the poverty line." As we draw ever closer to 2025, only time will tell.