Target to Raise Minimum Wage for Thousands of Employees

Target is giving thousands of its employees a raise. The retailer announced this week that it will start raising its minimum wage next month to $10 an hour, and will eventually raise it to $11 an hour for all U.S. stores.

"Target has always offered market-competitive wages to our team members," Brian Cornell, Target’s CEO, said in a statement. "With this latest commitment, we'll be providing even more meaningful pay, as well as the tools, training, and support … that set Target apart." Although Cornell didn’t specify how many of the company’s current 323,000 employees will get the raise, it will apply to the 100,000 temporary workers that the retailer plans to hire ahead of the holidays. Target also committed to boosting its minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2020.

Total Retail’s Take: Currently, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour and has been at that level since 2009. Only two states in the U.S. — Massachusetts and Washington — currently have a minimum wage of $11 per hour. All others fall below that threshold, but many states already have plans in place to further hike pay in the coming years. Retailers such as Target, Costco, Gap, Ikea and Wal-Mart have increased the minimum wage for their employees in order to recruit and retain in-store talent, something that's necessary when trying to compete against digital players like Amazon.com.