May 24, 2013
MIAMI (AP) -- Florida's minimum wage earners are about to get a 12-cents-an-hour boost.
But experts say the increase won't help that many people and adds up to less than $5 a week.
Minimum wage in the Sunshine State will rise to $7.79 on Tuesday. Only about 210,000 out of 7.4 million employed workers Florida workers will benefit.
The increase likely will affect phone sales workers, drivers, housekeepers, toll collectors, security guards and many hourly wage workers in the hotel and restaurant industry.
Younger workers may feel the greatest impact. A University of Central Florida economist says workers under the age of 24 account for roughly half of all minimum-wage earners.
The National Employment Law Project estimates the increase will add $46.2 million to the state's gross domestic product.
