In Vermont, the US minimum wage plays an important role in ensuring a decent and livable wage for all working individuals. While the national minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 since 2009, The Green Mountain State has shown a continued commitment to fighting for economic justice and protecting its workers. With the passing of legislation in 2014, Vermont has implemented an annual, phased-in minimum wage increase, with a goal of reaching $10.50 per hour minimum wage by the year 2018. This year, the minimum wage in Vermont stepped up the the most recent rate of $10.78 per hour.
Looking to the future, it is expected that the state minimum wage in Vermont will continue along this trajectory. The current minimum wage rate has been set through 2018, with plans to increase the wage by $0.75 each year until 2022, when it will reach $12.55 per hour. For 2023, the estimated minimum wage rate in Vermont is $13.30 per hour.
What this means is that over a span of roughly ten years, the minimum wage rate in Vermont will have gone from $8.46 per hour to $13.30 per hour. This increase of nearly forty-five percent will have a massive effect on the lives of many workers; those that were earning less than $10.50 per hour in 2018 will enjoy a considerable raise when 2023 arrives.
It is true that the minimum wage increase in Vermont is not as high as hoped for by labor advocacy groups. For low-income individuals and families, the income provided by a minimum wage job oftentimes struggles to cover basic necessities of life, including food, housing and healthcare. The Vermont state minimum wage, while an important step in the right direction, has yet to address this problem.
In addition, it is estimated that the minimum wage in Vermont will rise more slowly than the cost of living, meaning individuals and families are likely to struggle with rising costs of goods and services over the next few years. Moreover, the increasing reliance on automation may also prove to be a future drag on wages, further eroding the potential benefits of the minimum wage increase.
In short, the minimum wage in Vermont is expected to increase to $13.30 per hour by 2023, reflecting a gradual but steady path of growth over the past decade. This increase will undoubtedly be an important boon for those earning the current state minimum wage rate, yet it has yet to truly address the economic problem of low-income families and their struggle to afford the necessities of life.
