What’s Driving the Pay Increases, and What It Means to Recruiters

In mid-February, the CEO of Walmart announced that the company, long pilloried for its low wages, would be raising its starting pay to at least $9 per hour and increase it to $10 per hour next year. This move followed on the heels of an announcement the prior day that retailer Gap, Inc. was raising its minimum starting wage to $10 per hour. A month prior, the CEO of health insurer Aetna announced that it would be raising its minimum starting wage to a whopping $16 per hour resulting in an average of an 11 percent raise, and as much as a 33 percent increase for some.