Massachusetts to Raise Minimum Wage to Highest of Any U.S. State

A new "increase the unemployment" bill has gone into effect in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick Thursday signed into law a measure raising the minimum wage to the highest of any U.S. state, $11 per hour, by 2017.

The law will raise the state's minimum wage in stages from its current level of $8 per hour.

Other non-state jurisdictions have higher minimum wages. The District of Columbia earlier this year adopted an $11.50 minimum, to take effect in 2016, and Seattle's city council voted this month to raise its minimum to $15 an hour over the next seven years.

-RW