Maine Will Have a New Minimum Wage Beginning on January 1st

Let's face it- it's even difficult for people that have higher paying jobs to make ends meet these days. With everything costing way more than it did just three short years ago and inflation on the rise here in Maine and around the country, Maine families are doing everything they can to keep the lights on, the tank full and food on the table.

Thankfully, for many of Maine's lowest wage earners, the minimum wage in the Pine Tree State has been steadily ticking up over the last several years. And while it's certainly not making anybody rich, the more it goes up, in theory, the better off the people on the lower-end of the earning totem pole will be.

According to WGME 13, that minimum wage rate for Maine is going to be going up again next year. Well, January 1st, 2023 to be exact. WGME reports that Maine's minimum wage is currently $12.75 per hour. If you work 40 hours a week, that equates to about $26,520 before taxes and insurance.

Beginning January 1, Maine's minimum wage will be going up to $13.80 per hour- more than a dollar more than where it is right now. That means, if you make minimum wage and work a 40 hour job, you could expect to earn about $28,704 before taxes and insurance.

For Mainers who work in service-industry jobs where tips are part of what they make, those employees, beginning on January 1st, will see a base wage increase to $6.90 per hour.

WGME reports that Maine's minimum wage must have a yearly adjustment based on the cost-of-living index. The news stations says that's because of a referendum that passed in Maine back in 2016.