Washington State’s 2013 minimum wage: $9.19

The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries has announced that Washington's minimum wage will increase to $9.19 per hour effective January 1, 2013.

This increase is a $0.15 per hour increase from $9.04. Washington has the highest minimum wage in the nation, the second highest is Oregon at $8.95 per hour.

Although a rise in the minimum wage rate may be good news for minimum wage workers, the Washington Policy Center argues that Washington's high minimum wage results in increasing the cost of creating jobs and therefore reduces job opportunities for the unemployed.