New Mexico’s Minimum Wage Has Increased To $6.5 Per Hour

On January 1, 2008 the New Mexico state minimum wage has increased by 65 cents from $5.85 per hour to $6.50 per hour, which will increase again to $7.50 an hour on January 1, 2009. This is the second increase of minimum wage within 6 months in New Mexico. On July 24, 2007, the state minimum wage increased with the federal rate, from $5.15 per hour to $5.85 per hour. Thus, the total increase in New Mexico will reach $1.35 per hour, which is the largest in any state in 2008.

However, the increase of minimum wage does not apply to agricultural employees and tipped employees. Although the federal rate for tipped employees is $2.13 per hour and that in other states is somewhere from $2.23 to $8.07 per hour, the minimum wage for tipped employees in New Mexico remains one of the lowest rates in the nation, that is just $2.125 per hour.