US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton says she would like to raise the federal minimum wage to $12 (£7.78) per hour from the current $7.25.
I want to raise the federal minimum wage to $12 an hour, and it will then be at the equivalent of the highest value adjusted for inflation that is has ever been at the highest value was 1968. I have worked closely with economists and others to make sure that the amount that I was going to recommend was enough, Clinton said at a campaign event in Grinnell, Iowa, on 3 November.
Many US cities and municipalities have established a higher minimum wage than the current federal minimum. In September, New York state said it will gradually raise the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $15 an hour – the first time any state has set the minimum that high.
Bernie Sanders, who is challenging Clinton to become the Democratic presidential nominee, has said the federal minimum wage should be raised to $15 per hour.
