For the third time in less than two years, Target announced that it will be raising its minimum wage. The minimum wage is $12 currently, by the end of June Target is planning on making that number $13 across all of their stores. This is part of Target’s three-year goal to have a minimum wage of $15 an hour by the end of 2020.
Raising the Bar
Minneapolis-based Target employs over 300,000 employees and has over 1,800 stores scattered across the U.S. Unemployment has dropped to a new low recently, making it hard for retailer stores to find new employees- which means finding new workers is more about fighting other retailers for employees than it is about posting a “now hiring” sign outside your door.
Target last raised its minimum wage from $11 to $12 back in 2018, in 2017 Target announced their plans to raise its minimum wage to $15 by the end of 2020. “Our team is Target’s greatest asset, from the newest faces to those who’ve been with us for many years,” Target’s Chief Human Resources Officer Melissa Kremer said in a statement. “So investing in our team members is essential to keep our business growing and thriving.” [1]
Seasonal Competition
Target managed to hire over 120,000 seasonal workers over the holidays, competing against other retail stores such as Walmart, Kohls, and Costco, for the limited employees. Target lured in workers with $500 gift card drawings, and Costco raised their minimum wage to $15 an hour over the holidays, and Kohl’s more than doubled their employee discount from 15 percent to 35 percent.
“We were able to start them all (seasonal hires) at $12 or more — and that helped us reach our seasonal hiring goal ahead of schedule, which gave our teams a lot of extra time to train and prepare for our busiest season of the year,” Kremer said.
Although Walmart remains the largest retailer and private sector employer, they have still have a minimum wage of $11 an hour. [2] Recently, Walmart has been under more pressure than ever from other retailers, this wage hike may only increase the competition between Walmart and other businesses.
Notes:
- ^Takahashi, Paul. “Target to raise minimum wage to $13 an hour.” Houston Chronicle, 4 Apr. 2019, www.chron.com/business/retail/article/Target-to-raise-minimum-wage-to-13-an-hour-13741061.php. (go back ↩)
- ^Reuters. “Target raises minimum wage to $13 an hour in tight labor market.” NBC News, 4 Apr. 2019, www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/target-raises-minimum-wage-13-hour-tight-labor-market-n990866. (go back ↩)
