Minimum wage up to $7.05 on Jan. 1

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri workers earning minimum wage will make an extra 40 cents per hour in 2009.

The state Labor Department announced Friday that Missouri's hourly minimum wage would increase from $6.65 to $7.05 starting Jan. 1.

Voters in 2006 approved a ballot measure that requires the state minimum wage to increase annually along with inflation.

In a news release, the Labor Department said the increase is based on a 6 percent change in the national Consumer Price Index from July 2007 to July 2008.