The state minimum wage will increase again in the new year.
Under California labor law, the state’s director of finance has to calculate annually how much the minimum wage will go up in the following year. The increase is determined by whichever number is lesser: 3.5%; or the rate of change for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics non-seasonally adjusted U.S. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (U.S. CPI-W).
This year, the lesser number is 2.49% — the average U.S. CPI-W for the 12-month period from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025 compared to the same period in the prior year…