North Carolina Taking Steps To Increase Minimum Wage To $15

The North Carolina minimum wage could soon be more than doubling. A new bill was introduced by two democrats from Mecklenburg County. QCNews reports that Senators Joyce Waddell and Rachel Hunt were sponsors on the bill that was filed in the state Senate on Thursday. If the bill passes it would raise the North Carolina minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour. That is an increase of over 100%. The increase would go into effect on January 1, 2024.

I fully support raising the minimum wage and even coming up with a plan to get to that $15 per hour mark. That being said I think increasing by such a high percentage at once is not the correct way to do it. I would be more supportive of a plan that raised it gradually every few months or yearly. Most businesses are already paying significantly more than $7.25 an hour due to having to compete for workers. But I personally would worry about the pricing impacts when businesses are forced to pay significantly increased wages. Another concern I have is that companies will decide to just have fewer people do more work to compensate for this stark increase.

That being said this is just a proposed bill. To become law the bill must first be assigned to and approved by a committee, then be voted on and passed by the House and Senate, and finally signed by Governor Roy Cooper. So while the ball is rolling, it still has a ways to go. What do you think about this proposed increase to the minimum wage?

It is so important to work at a place that makes you happy. Nobody wants to go to work every day feeling miserable. What kind of lifestyle is that? Not one I want to live.

America's labor paradigm shifted after the pandemic. Apparently, where you work does matter. Not just the job, but the state it is in. TOP Data conducted an in-depth analysis of the Best and Worst States for a Job in 2022 to identify which states have the best work situations in this new environment.

In order to determine what are the best and worst states to live in, TOP Data compared the 50 states across five key dimensions:

1. State Economy
2. Compensation & Benefits
3. Job Market
4. Quality of Life
5. Business Friendliness

Using 51 metrics organized into 5 key indicators of job satisfaction and opportunity, the 2022 Best States for a Job Rankings showed that North Carolina ranked one of the top states in the nation. The following are some insights for the state and the top 15 states.

North Carolina has one of the Strongest Economies in the Country. Ranking 4th in this category (State Economy), the state is among the top 10 states with the highest percentage of GDP growth, one of the highest credit ratings, and one of the lowest debt rates in the country.