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Walmart has just announced its employees are getting a 17% raise

It's raised its minimum wage from $12 to $14 an hour.

A beautiful sunset over a Walmart.

At a time when Americans are struggling with historic inflation, rising housing costs and elevated gas prices, Walmart, the country’s largest private employer, has announced it’s raising its minimum wage to $14 an hour. The raise is roughly a 17% percentage jump for people who work on the floor of the retail giant.

Walmart has 1.7 million employees in the United States, 94% of which are hourly workers.

The decision doesn’t just benefit Walmart employees. In a country where the federal minimum wage is a paltry $7.25 an hour—and has been for 14 years—Walmart acts as a de facto minimum wage in some parts of the country, especially the South. The highest minimum wage in the U.S. is in Washington State where it’s $15.74.

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via Mike Mozart / Flickr

Target has announced that it will raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour beginning July 5. The decision makes good on a promise it made three years ago to raise its starting rate to $15 an hour by 2020.

The move will impact over 275,000 employees in its distribution centers and retail stores.

Target's decision comes after many of America's larger retailers gave their employees temporary raises for working through the COVID-19 pandemic. However, many of those stores, including Starbucks, Kroger, and Amazon have done away with their pandemic raises over the past few weeks.

On March 25, Target moved its starting wage temporarily to $15 an hour after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Now, it's made the decision permanent.

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via Today's Headlines / Twitter

The coronavirus pandemic is drastically changing the economy minute by minute. Businesses such as restaurants, bars, and brick-and-mortar retail stores have been hit hard and, in some states, are totally shut down.

However, other businesses such as grocery stores, online retailers, and food delivery services are thriving in the new normal.

The good news is that displaced workers from one part of the economy have opportunities for jobs in another sector. Papa John's and Dominoes are looking to hire thousands of delivery drivers due to the high demand for pizza.

Amazon is announced it'll hire an additional 100,000 employees to help keep up with the surge in online shopping.

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There's good customer service, and then there's what Phil did last week for a person in need.

Customer Myrna Kines was shopping at a Walmart in Lithia Springs, Georgia, when she spotted Phil (last name omitted by request) giving his pink sneakers to a homeless man.

There was no catch. There was no ulterior motive. It was a simple, selfless act of generosity.

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