Costco will raise its minimum wage

Costco Wholesale Corp. will lift its minimum wage for the first time in nine years, by $1.50 an hour, as the labor market tightens and competitors start giving workers a raise.

The second largest U.S. retailer will start paying at least $13 to $13.50 an hour, up from $11.50 to $12 an hour, the company said. The increase will cut its earnings per share in the next three months by 1 cent, and by 2 cents in the following three quarters, the company said.

Costco didn’t say how many of its 117,000 employees will get a raise.

The company’s highest hourly pay is about $22.50, and the company plans to give those workers about a 2.5 percent raise this year, Costco said.

Bloomberg News

This story was originally published March 3, 2016 at 2:22 PM with the headline "Costco will raise its minimum wage."