Minimum wage going up in Washington, too

Entering 2008, Oregon and Washington had two of the highest state-mandated minimum wages in the country. And going into 2009, that isn’t going to change. We told you earlier that Oregon’s minimum wage will rise on Jan. 1, 2009, from $7.95 to $8.40 per hour. Now comes word that Washington’s minimum wage will be $8.55 per hour, effective the same date. That’s up 48 cents from the current $8.07 rate. Both Oregon and Washington have laws, passed via voter initiative, that require state labor officials to raise the minimum wage every year, based on any hikes in the Consumer Price Index. But the change in wages is likely to affect nurseries already affected by rising fuel costs, unstable credit markets and a lack of consumer confidence.