Hochul seeks annual raises in New York’s minimum wage

ALBANY, N.Y. — Gov. Kathy Hochul is proposing that New York’s minimum wage increase annually to match a regional gauge for inflation.

The plan seeks to help low-wage New Yorkers meet the rising cost of living by indexing the state’s minimum wage to the Consumer Price Index for Wage Earners (CPI-W) for the Northeast Region.

Hochul offered details on the proposal during the 2023 State of the State address, which she delivered Tuesday before the New York State Legislature.

The governor’s proposal would increase the state’s minimum wage by the growth in the year-over-year CPI-W for the Northeast, her office said. To “ensure that no single-year increase would threaten employment,” annual increases would be capped. In addition, the proposal would also allow for an “off-ramp” in the event of “certain economic or budget conditions.”

Indexing the minimum wage to inflation “will help to maintain the purchasing power” of workers’ wages from year to year, Hochul’s office contends.

Seventeen other states either currently tie their minimum wage to inflation or some other economic formula or are slated to do so. That includes three states that, like New York, have minimum wages at or above $15 in 2023, per Hochul’s office.