Quebec minimum wage increasing on May 1

Quebec's minimum wage will increase by 50 cents to $15.75 an hour beginning May 1.

The Labour Department says it is hiking the minimum wage by a little more than three per cent because of the economic uncertainty in the retail and restaurant sectors.

The department says the hike will affect just over 200,000 workers, including more than 111,000 women.

Labour Minister Jean Boulet says the government doesn't want to raise the minimum wage too quickly because doing so could have a negative effect on employers, notably in restaurant and retail.

The government says the raise will keep the minimum wage to about half the average hourly pay for workers in Quebec, which is the province's goal.

Boulet says the increase of three per cent is higher than the estimated inflation for the province's 2024-25 fiscal year, which is 2.3 per cent.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 31, 2024.