Starting wages: $10.94
Recreational Equipment, Inc. Co-op (REI) promotes outdoor adventures amongst its 12,000 employees as well as its consumers. Along with a minimum hourly wage of $10.94 an hour, employees get two paid vacation days each year for the purpose of exploring the outdoors, called "Yay Days." REI also encourages employees to reduce their carbon footprint by offering a 50 percent pre-tax subsidy on public transportation expenses.
The federal minimum wage in the United States got its last raise in 2009 when it went from $6.55 to $7.25. President Obama supports the Raise the Wage Act proposed by Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Representative Bobby Scott (D-Va.), which would raise the minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2020.
Average hourly nominal wages have grown 2.0-2.2 percent annually over the past six years, , with growth in the last year credited to low inflation rates. Growth in income inequality has accompanied growth in wages over the past few years: the top 5 percent of earners experienced the fastest wage growth between 2012 and 2015. That disparity has fueled activist campaigns like the Occupy Wall Street movement and the Fight for $15 campaign.
Still, as the job market has tightened, many companies have given their lowest-paid employees a boost over the past year or so. Retail giants Target and Walmart have announced minimum wage hikes to $10 an hour for new hires. JPMorgan Chase will raise its minimum wage to $12 by February 2017, and in July Starbucks announced a five percent wage hike for employees to occur in the fall.
Cities and states have also chosen to raise the minimum wage. New York will raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2021 statewide and in New York City by 2018. The cities of Seattle and Portland have already adopted $15 minimum wages.
Starting wages higher than $10 an hour for unskilled, entry-level workers is still the exception in the retail industry across much of the country, but the retailers on this list start their employees at rates over $10.50. In many cases, an array of benefits accompany these wages. Can you guess which company pays employees some of the highest starting wages in the retail industry?
