In 2017, Target
Target says that it will increase its minimum wage from $15 across the board to a range from $15 to $24 per hour depending on the area. Pay will be higher in areas with tighter labor markets, like New York.
This new range will bring Target more in line with competitors like Costco
"The market has changed," Target CEO Brian Cornell said in an Associated Press interview. "We want to continue to have an industry-leading position."
The wage increases amongst these major retailers reflect an increasingly high demand for new workers. A recent study of major retailers with annual revenues of between $50 million and $20 billion found that 96% were struggling to find employees. Still, Target reports that its turnover rates have actually improved during the pandemic.
Target's wage bump is one part of a $300 million investment in the company's workforce. Along with the pay increase, the investment is expected to improve employee health care opportunities, including expanding eligibility and available services.
Previously, employees had to work an average of 30 hours per week to qualify for Target's medical plan, but now that plan is being made available to all employees working an average of at least 25 hours per week. That represents roughly one-in-five of Target's employees.
The improved medical plan will also now include more fertility benefits, virtual physical therapy services, and acupuncture at no cost to the employee.
Target has also worked to improve employee education by partnering with Guild Education, a program that provides boot camps, certificates, and degrees.
While Target is representing the pay increase as an investment in its workforce in general, the employee action group Target Workers Unite wrote on Twitter
"They also stipulate wages will be based on the local labor market, [which] usually means lower wages in the South," the group added.
