Montana, Oregon raising minimum wage Jan. 1

The minimum wage is scheduled to go up on New Years’ Day in Montana and Oregon.

The rate in Montana will increase 30 cents to $7.65 an hour. The The Economic Policy Institute says that means an extra $624 per year in wages for a full-time minimum wage worker.

The increase comes as a result of an initiative Montana voters adopted in 2006 that established annual cost of living increases.

Oregon’s minimum wage goes up 30 cents on Jan. 1 to $8.80 an hour. It will mean a pay raise to nearly 145,000 workers in the state.

The annual inflation increase is the result of an initiative approved in 2002 by voters.