Minimum hourly wage in N.J. to jump to $13 for most workers

Some New Jersey workers will start the new year by taking more money home as the minimum hourly wage increases to $13 starting Jan. 1.

The statewide, $1 increase is mandated under a law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy that will bring the state minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024 for most employees.

Murphy ran on hiking the minimum wage to $15 during his first campaign in 2017, when it was $8.60. In 2019, Murphy signed a law requiring the incremental annual pay hikes.

The scheduled increases come at a time when inflation is skyrocketing — prices are rising on everything from food to appliances to gas — and as we enter the third year of a pandemic that devastated businesses in the state.

Seasonal and small employers — which have until 2026 to pay $15 an hour — will need to pay a minimum of $11.90 starting in the new year, up from $11.10. Farm workers’ wages will jump to $11.05. Their employers have until 2027 to get to $15.

Long-term care facility staff will also see a pay hike, bringing their hourly minimum wage to $16 an hour.

The minimum rate for tipped workers like bartenders and servers is also going up by $1 to an hourly rate of $5.13.

The federal minimum wage for most employees stands at $7.25 per hour, which hasn’t changed since 2008.

Twenty other states are also raising hourly wages at the start of the new year.