I've had a couple of minimum wage jobs in my life. My first 'real' high school job was as a dishwasher where I earned a whopping $3.35 per hour, which was the minimum wage in my state in 1989. By 1995 I was working in a steel shop operating a cutting machine and making $10.59 per hour. I was rolling in the dough, or so I thought!

There's good news for minimum wage workers in South Dakota who will get an automatic raise on January 1, 2021.

The current wage of $9.30 per hour will increase to $9.45.

For reference, the Federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.

Tipped employees will increase to $4.72 an hour, which is half the minimum wage for non-tipped employees. State law says wages and tips together must equal at least the minimum wage.

Department of Labor Deputy Secretary Dawn Dovre said the minimum wage in South Dakota is annually adjusted by any increase in the cost of living, as measured in the Consumer Price Index published by the U.S. Department of Labor. Dakota News Now reports that this year’s increase was 1.3% and is rounded up to the nearest 5 cents.

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