President Obama has signed the order to raise minimum wage for federal contractors.
The executive order was signed Wednesday. This raised the price per hour for contractors to $10.10 and will start next year. The news was first heard in an announcement Obama made during his State of the Union. Before this, the minimum wage of these employees was $7.25.
NBC News reports that this will give about 300,000 workers higher pay in the government. Critics, however, argue that this is only a small group of employees that will be receiving more money.
According to Yahoo, it is the President’s hope that this order will inspire other employers to raise their wages for their employees.
“I would ask any business leader out there, any governor, any mayor, any local leader listening: do what you can to raise your employee’s wages,” Obama said.
It is also the government’s hope that, by raising the pay of employees, the economy will also get better.
The wage increase will officially be added to contracts on January 1, 2015.
Image: Wiki Commons
