Washington state minimum wage to be $14.49 next year

SEATTLE (AP) — Washington’s minimum hourly wage will rise to $14.49 next year, up from the current $13.69. The Seattle Times reports the increase was announced Thursday by the state Department of Labor and Industries. Under state law, the department sets the minimum wage for the coming year using a consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That index, updated Sept. 14, found that prices paid by urban workers in August were up around 5.8% nationally and 5.3% in the Seattle area. August prices in the Seattle area were 1.1% higher than they’d been in June, compared with a 0.7% increase nationally.