On Tuesday, Walmart Inc declared a momentous shift in the form of higher wages for its U.S. store employees starting next month. This choice came about as the organization strives to recruit and maintain workers amid increasing rivalry within today’s domestic job market. Despite the increase in hourly wages, Walmart’s pay still lags behind its competition, including Amazon, Costco, and Target, offering a minimum of $15 an hour since 2021.
Walmart’s Salary Increase Is Linked to Salary Increase in America
Walmart recently announced an exciting wage hike to its employees, lifting their average hourly pay rate from $17 to $17.50 per hour and taking effect in March. Through this raise, around 340,000 of Walmart’s US workers located at over 3,000 stores will receive a minimum wage of between $14-$19 each, depending on the store – representing a substantial increase for many.
Walmart’s move comes as US wage growth moderates. Data from earlier this month showed average hourly earnings growth for US workers slowed to 0.3% in December, compared with 0.4% in the prior month.
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The labor market is showing remarkable resilience, as evidenced by the record-low unemployment rate of 3.5% in December and an impressive ratio of job openings to unemployed individuals.
On The Other Hand, These Raises Are Not Considered “Sufficient”
On Sunday, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont fiercely condemned Walmart‘s plans to raise employees’ wages after the announcement. He argued that it is still not enough and should be paying “a living wage.”
Senator Sanders of Vermont harshly criticized the Walton family for not providing their workers a living wage. “The wealthiest family owns Walmart in America, yet many of their employees are receiving wages so low they have to rely on food stamps and Medicaid – which means it’s taxpayers who have to support this affluent household instead,” he declared during his MSNBC interview.
During the 2019 presidential campaign, a former candidate confronted Walmart at their annual shareholders’ meeting to push for an unprecedented wage increase to $15 per hour and described their current wages as “starvation wages.” Sanders also said on Sunday that with inflation considered, the minimum wage should actually be closer to $17 now.
