No Increase in State Minimum Wage in 2010

Thanks to a decrease in the Consumer Price Index, the state minimum wage rate will not increase on Jan. 1. It will remain at $7.25.

This is good news for Missouri's small business owners, because any increase in expenses would make it harder for them to recover from the worst recession since the Great Depression.

Every year on Sept. 30, the Missouri Labor Department director is required to adjust Missouri’s minimum wage amount based on changes to the consumer price index.

If the index had increased, Missouri would have had to raise its minimum wage.

On July 24, Missouri’s minimum wage rate increased by 20 cents from $7.05 per hour to $7.25 per hour.