McDonald’s announced Thursday it is raising hourly wages for more than 36,000 employees at company-owned restaurants by an average of 10%.
The global fast-food giant said the increases, which have already begun, will be rolled out over the next several months and include shifting the entry-level range for crew to at least $11 to $17 an hour, and the starting range for shift managers to at least $15 to $20 an hour, based on restaurant location.
Entering into the summer with dining rooms reopening where safe, McDonald’s-owned restaurants are also looking to hire 10,000 new employees during the next three months.
McDonald’s expects the average hourly wage for its company-owned restaurants to increase to $15 an hour in a phased, market-by-market approach. Some restaurants have, or will, reach an average hourly wage of $15 an hour in 2021, and average hourly wages are expected to reach $15 an hour by 2024.
McDonald’s is the latest big-chain employer to raise wages. In February, Costco, the members-only wholesale warehouse chain, announced it is increasing its starting pay wage to $16 an hour. The starting wage scale puts Costco above competitors including Amazon, Target and Best Buy, which have $15 minimum wages.
Less than a month later, Walmart said its hourly workers will collect bigger paychecks on the East and West coasts.
Reuters reported the global retailer raised average pay for U.S. hourly workers to at least $15.25 an hour, focusing on digital fulfillment and stocking workers who will receive a starting wage of $13 to $19 an hour.
New figures released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor showed the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell to 473,000, a new pandemic low and the latest evidence that fewer employers are cutting jobs as consumers ramp up spending and more businesses reopen.
