Walmart, the largest private employer in the United States, said Tuesday it will raise the average hourly wage for its US workers next month.
Walmart, in a memo to staff, said workers in stores and warehouses would receive at least $14 an hour, up from $12. The move would raise the average hourly wage for its US workers to more than $17.50.
The retailer currently pays an average of more than $17 to its almost 1.6 million hourly workers.
Walmart said the wage increases are a combination of regular annual increases and targeted investments in starting rates.
The increase comes as US wage growth moderates. Data from earlier this month showed average hourly earnings growth for workers slowed to 0.3% in December, compared with 0.4% in the prior month.
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
