Hannibal businesses, nonprofits, and economic leaders react to new minimum wage increase
HANNIBAL (WGEM) – A new minimum wage increase will soon take effect in Missouri. Starting on Jan. 1, the new minimum wage will go up by nearly $1.50 hourly.
Hannibal employers are sharing mixed reactions.
“It’s not going to help anything,” said Big Muddy BBQ owner Todd Rourke. “I knew it was coming. Personally, I already pay my help well above what the standard is going to be.”
On Jan. 1, 2025, the new minimum wage for hourly employees in Missouri will be $13.75, almost $1.50 more than the current minimum wage. Effective in May, workers will also have seven paid sick days.
Supporters might say that could help with the labor shortage and attract workers. Rourke has a different take.
“There is a culture now that no matter what you’re gonna pay, they’re not gonna show up,” Rourke said.
McKenzie Disselhorst with the Hannibal Area Chamber of Commerce said people like Rourke who pay workers above minimum could still be faced with wage compression.
“The [above minimum wage] that they are paying [will not be] quite as competitive as it used to be,” Disselhorst said.
Disselhorst said to compensate for that, business owners might need to raise prices on goods. However, nonprofit employers may not get that luxury.
“The majority of our staff is younger people…high school, college age,” said Eric Abts, CEO of Hannibal’s YMCA. “And so we kind of live in the minimum wage world. We try to pay a little bit more. But we just have to deal with that. Try our best not to raise prices on membership.”
Disselhorst said overall she and business affiliates have mixed feelings about the new law.
“It can potentially add a little bit more money to our economy,” Disselhorst said. “And give people a little bit more disposable income. However, you often see a little more inflation with that.”
The wage hike will not stop there. In 2026, the new minimum pay in Missouri will be raised again to $15 an hour.
The Missouri Chamber of Commerce strongly opposes the wage hike. In a statement, officials said, “The law violates a state constitutional requirement that ballot measures only address one issue because it included minimum wage and paid sick leave.”
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