Vermont’s minimum wage goes up to $8.06 per hour on Thursday.
That puts Vermont’s rate among the highest in the U.S., but some say it’s not enough.
Colin Robinson, director of the Vermont Livable Wage Campaign in Burlington, says the wage boost – the existing rate is $7.68 an hour – works out to only $16,000 a year for someone working 40-hour weeks, sometimes not enough to cover basic needs.
The federal minimum wage, which is now $5.85, is scheduled to increase to $7.25 next summer.
James Haslam, director of the Vermont Worker’s Center, says many Vermont families try to live on minimum wage but that they need to work than one job to do so.