Illinois’ Midwest-leading minimum wage increases again in January 2024
Non-tipped workers will see their hourly wage hit $14 an hour while tipped employees will collect $8.40 thanks to the next minimum wage hike on January 1, 2024.
Illinois will raise the minimum wage for tipped and non-tipped workers starting January 1, 2024, according to the Illinois Department of Labor.
Non-tipped workers will see their hourly wage increase from $13 to $14 while tipped employees’ salaries will rise from $7.80 to $8.40 an hour.
The minimum wage for employees under 18, who work less than 650 hours a year, will also increase from $10.50 to $12 an hour.
Illinois offers the highest minimum wage in the Midwest. And starting in 2024, job creators will pay the 11th-most nationwide to keep non-tipped minimum wage workers employed.
Larger businesses can often absorb higher labor costs. Unfortunately, these increases fall hardest on small businesses, leading to fewer new hires in the fastest growing businesses.
A 2018 University of Wisconsin, Madison study looked at the effects of Minnesota’s 2014 progressive minimum wage hike. The study found that youth employment dropped by 9% and restaurant industry employment overall fell 4% in the years immediately following minimum wage increases.
Moreover, empirical evidence suggests minimum wages do not elevate low-income families, nor reduce most forms of public assistance, but rather benefit individuals who are already employed.
The Land of Lincoln has increasingly struggled to attract employers due to the state’s high labor costs, nation-leading tax burden and large number of regulations on businesses.
A new report from the Tax Foundation ranked Illinois’ business climate as the 37th worst in the nation. Neighboring states ranked much higher in the 2024 report: Indiana ranked 10th, Michigan 11th and Missouri 12th.
While the minimum wage hike will bring higher salaries for some, the policies will make Illinois even less attractive to prospective employers and could reduce the total number of jobs available to Illinoisians.
And the consequences of this are clear: employers will take their business and jobs across the border.