California's Minimum Wage Hits $8

California took the second step Tuesday in its two-year move to increase minimum wage, bringing it to $8 an hour.

The 50 cent increase is on top of the $1.25 cent per hour increase that took effect Jan. 1, 2007. The two-step process increased minimum wage in the state for the first time since 2002.

At $8 an hour, California is tied with Massachusetts for the second-highest minimum wage in the nation, behind Washington at $8.07 per hour. The federal minimum wage is $5.85 per hour.

The wage increase will benefit almost 1.4 million workers in the state, but the California Budget Project recently reported the hike was not enough to lift low-income families out of poverty.

Inflation in the state has averaged 3 percent since 2001; an equivalent increase in minimum wage would require it to be $8.24 an hour in 2009.

From: Sacramento Business Journal (www.bizjournals.com)