Costco is raising its minimum wage to at least $14 an hour by next Monday.
The retail chain, second only to Walmart in sales, also said it would raise pay for other 130,000 U.S. employees generally, at a time when unemployment nationally is low and there is keen competition for qualified employees.
The company said it would increase its starting hourly wages by $1 to $14 or $14.50 an hour. Other hourly workers will receive raises of between 25 cents and 50 cents, Costco said.
Part of the raise stems from last year’s federal tax cut for corporations, Costco acknowledged.
The company recently saw a good quarter financially. Net sales for the quarter that ended May 13 increased 12.1 percent, to $31.6 billion, from $28.2 billion last year.
MORE: Employers grapple with lowest jobless rate since April 2000
Meanwhile, net sales for the first thirty-six weeks of fiscal year 2018 increased 12 percent, to $95 billion, from $84.8 billion last year.
About the Author
