Missouri to increase minimum wage on Jan. 1

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's low-wage workers are getting a small pay increase in 2015.

Starting New Year's Day, the state's minimum wage will increase by 15 cents to $7.65 an hour. The minimum wage for tipped workers in Missouri will rise by 9 cents to $3.83 per hour.

A law passed by voters in 2006 provides an annual cost-of-living adjustment to Missouri's minimum wage.

The National Employment Law Project said in a news release that Missouri is joined by 19 states that will also raise their minimum wage on New Year's Day. New York will do the same on Dec. 31.

The advocacy group for low-wage workers says the minimum wage increases will boost pay for a total of 4.4 million workers, including 136,000 in Missouri.