SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — Minimum wage in New Jersey is going up a buck and change to $14.03 per hour, starting Jan. 1. The current minimum wage is $13 an hour.
The hourly rate went up an extra 13 cents because the Legislature tied the increase to the rate of inflation — “which is why it’s not just 14 dollars,” said Department of Labor Commissioner Robert Asero-Angelo. “I think that’s going to be important and exponentially productive for workers of New Jersey, across the board.”
Asero-Angelo says every dollar helps people on the lowest rungs of the wage ladder.
Many businesses have complained that the wage increases will crush them, but the commissioner says they are dead wrong.
“We heard from way too many folks who said the sky was going to fall for New Jersey businesses when this happened. Not only do we have the most employers and employees in our state’s history,” he said, “that growth has been exponential amongst the smallest employers during that time.”
He said there is still a high demand for workers in New Jersey.
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“It’s never been a better time to be a worker, and there’s never been a better place to be a worker than it is in New Jersey right now.”
Another minimum wage increase is scheduled to happen in 2024 to meet Gov. Phil Murphy’s goal of $15 an hour.