2027年伊始，多个由民主党执政的州的劳动者将迎来新一轮加薪，这将进一步拉大各州最低工资标准与联邦最低时薪7.25美元之间的差距。
Workers across several Democratic-led states are set to ring in 2027 with another pay bump, widening an already sizable gap between state minimum wages and the federal floor of $7.25 an hour.
从1月1日起，华盛顿州、加利福尼亚州和康涅狄格州都将上调原本就已超过17美元/小时的最低工资标准；新泽西州与密歇根州也将提高各自的最低时薪，使得这些数值与联邦最低标准之间的差距进一步扩大。
Washington, California and Connecticut will all raise minimum wages that already top $17 an hour beginning Jan. 1, while New Jersey and Michigan will also hike their wage floors — widening the gap with the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour.
其中华盛顿州的涨幅最大，新标准为17.73美元/小时，较目前的17.13美元/小时提高了60美分。康涅狄格州的最低时薪将从16.94美元升至17.48美元，加利福尼亚州则从16.90美元上涨至17.40美元。
Washington will lead the pack at $17.73 an hour, up 60 cents from its current $17.13 rate. Connecticut’s minimum wage will rise from $16.94 to $17.48, while California’s will climb from $16.90 to $17.40.
新泽西州大多数劳动者的最低时薪将提高56美分，达到16.48美元/小时；密歇根州的涨幅也相当可观，最低时薪将从13.73美元升至15美元/小时。
New Jersey will increase its minimum wage by 56 cents to $16.48 an hour for most workers, while Michigan is slated for one of the largest jumps, rising from $13.73 to $15 an hour.
专家警告称，由亚历山德里娅·奥卡西奥-科尔特斯支持的30美元最低时薪计划可能产生意想不到的负面后果。与此同时，多个由共和党执政的州也纷纷将各自的最低工资标准上调至远高于联邦标准的水平，不过仍低于那些民主党执政州的最高标准。佛罗里达州的最低时薪自9月30日起便达到15美元/小时，这一标准将一直维持到2027年底；密苏里州的最低时薪同样为15美元/小时。内布拉斯加州则将于1月1日把最低时薪从15美元上调至15.26美元。
AOC-BACKED $30 MINIMUM WAGE PLAN COULD BACKFIRE IN UNEXPECTED WAYS, EXPERTS WARN The hikes come as several Republican-led states have also pushed their wage floors well above the federal rate, though they remain below the highest-paying blue states. Florida’s minimum wage reached $15 an hour on Sept. 30 and will remain there through the end of 2027, while Missouri is also at $15. Nebraska will increase its minimum wage from $15 to $15.26 on Jan. 1.
在全州层面实施加薪的同时，西雅图市还将进一步提高本地的最低工资标准。2027年起，该市的最低时薪将升至22.14美元/小时，比全州新标准高出近4.50美元。
Washington’s statewide increase will come as Seattle pushes its own wage floor even higher. The city’s minimum wage is slated to rise to $22.14 an hour in 2027, nearly $4.50 above the new statewide rate.
西雅图的高额最低工资标准也引发了关于本地企业运营成本的激烈争论。自2025年起，包括小企业在内的该市所有雇主都必须执行经通胀调整后的统一最低时薪标准。一些后来关闭门店的餐馆老板便将劳动力成本上升列为自身面临的经济压力之一。
Seattle’s wage requirements have also become a flashpoint in the debate over the costs facing local businesses. Beginning in 2025, all employers in the city, including small businesses, became subject to the same inflation-adjusted minimum wage. Some restaurant owners who later closed their businesses cited rising labor costs among the financial pressures they faced.
经济学家警告：斯潘伯格签署的最低工资上调令可能导致弗吉尼亚州数千个工作岗位面临流失风险。根据华盛顿州法律，该州的最低工资水平与通货膨胀率挂钩，每年都会重新计算，无需立法机构另行批准上调。
ECONOMIST WARNS THOUSANDS OF VIRGINIA JOBS AT RISK AFTER MINIMUM WAGE HIKE SIGNED BY SPANBERGER Washington’s minimum wage is tied to inflation under state law, with the wage floor recalculated each year rather than requiring lawmakers to approve a new increase.
1998年，华盛顿州选民通过一项议案提高了最低工资标准；自2001年起，后续的工资上调幅度便与通胀水平挂钩。2016年，选民又通过另一项议案，规定了2020年之前的最低工资调整方案。自2021年起，最低工资继续随通胀水平逐年上涨，旨在确保劳动者收入能跟上物价上涨的步伐。
Washington voters approved a measure in 1998 that raised the minimum wage and, beginning in 2001, tied future increases to inflation. Voters approved another measure in 2016 that set wage increases through 2020. Since 2021, the minimum wage has again risen annually with inflation, with the goal of keeping workers’ pay in step with rising prices.
每年9月，华盛顿州劳工与工业部会根据消费者物价指数（CPI-W）的变化情况测算次年的最低工资标准。新标准于9月30日公布，并于次年1月1日起正式生效。
Each September, the Washington Department of Labor & Industries calculates the following year’s rate based on changes in the CPI-W. The new rate is announced Sept. 30 and takes effect Jan. 1.
“民主党人似乎正在竭尽全力让华盛顿州的商业环境变得愈发难以生存，”《西雅图红报》主持人、保守派评论员杰森·兰茨在接受福克斯新闻数字频道采访时说道。
"Democrats appear to be doing everything they can to make the business climate in Washington more untenable," Seattle Red host and conservative commentator Jason Rantz told Fox News Digital.
最新报告显示：自2020年以来，西雅图市中心流失了3万个就业岗位，商业地产价值缩水数十亿美元。“问题不仅在于劳动力成本过高——如今西雅图的最低时薪已突破22美元；还有高发的犯罪率、公然存在的吸毒现象、针对转付型企业征收的新所得税，以及过多的监管规定，这些都让企业运营变得异常艰难，”兰茨指出。
DOWNTOWN SEATTLE LOST 30,000 JOBS, BILLIONS IN OFFICE VALUE SINCE 2020 PAYROLL TAX: NEW REPORT FINDS "It’s not just the high cost of labor — Seattle is now going to be over $22 an hour — but it’s the high crime, open-air drug use, new income tax that targets pass-through businesses, and over regulation that make operating businesses more difficult than it should be," Rantz said.
他补充道：“我们的失业率高于全国平均水平，科技行业的工作岗位也在不断流失。民主党人拿不出任何解决办法，只会让问题愈演愈烈。”据华盛顿州就业安全部数据，今年8月该州失业率升至4.9%，高于4.1%的全国平均水平，也比去年同期的4.6%有所上升。
"Our unemployment rate is higher than the national average and we’re losing tech jobs left and right," he added. "Democrats have no answers. They’re just making their problems worse." The wage hike comes as Washington’s unemployment rate reached 4.9% in August, above the 4.1% national rate and up from 4.6% a year earlier, according to the state Employment Security Department.
同月，华盛顿州还流失了约900个工作岗位，其中信息行业岗位减少了2300个；专业及商业服务业的就业人数较去年同期减少了1.31万人。
Washington also lost an estimated 900 jobs that month, including 2,300 information-sector positions, while professional and business services employment was down 13,100 jobs from a year earlier.
安吉拉·罗森是“佩内洛普与美容吧”的创始人，目前在西雅图经营着三家水疗中心。她向兰茨透露，她手下的理疗师们目前的薪资早已高于最低工资标准，但不断上涨的劳动力成本却让后勤岗位受到了挤压。
Angela Rosen, who founded Penelope and the Beauty Bar and operates three Seattle spas, told Rantz that her therapists already make more than minimum wage, but said higher labor costs have squeezed support positions instead.
据《西雅图红报》报道，罗森在“杰森·兰茨秀”节目中表示：“我不得不裁减前台人员。”兰茨还提到，这一举措导致两家规模较小的分店每周共减少了12个班次。
"I had to cut my front desk," Rosen told The Jason Rantz Show, according to Seattle Red. Rantz reported that the move eliminated 12 shifts per week across two smaller locations.