As of October 1^st, the Alberta’s minimum wage increase will finally come into effect, bumping the minimum wages from $13.60 to $15 per hour.

According to a report released by Public Interest Alberta, more than 300 000 Albertans will be getting a raise next month. Available data indicates that currently the majority of employees earning less than $15/hr are 20 years of age or older, suggesting that the minimum wage increase will impact more than just teenagers working part-time jobs.

However, the competing views about the minimum wage increase – generally, being the support for providing more income to workers that can be distributed throughout the economy, versus the potential negative impacts on small businesses and their ability to hire and retain those workers – will have to be carefully assessed as the increase is implemented and its real impacts become known.