California's minimum wage to reach $10 by 2016

SACRAMENTO, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- Gov. Jerry Brown Wednesday signed into law a bill that will raise California's minimum wage to $10 by 2016, a pay hike he said will help working families.

California becomes the first state to put in place a law that will bring its minimum wage to the $10 per hour threshold, with Maryland, Massachusetts, Illinois and Minnesota considering similar legislation, the National Employment Law Center, based in Washington, said in a statement.

California's minimum is now $8 an hour. It will go to $9 on July 1 and reach $10 on Jan. 1, 2016.

Brown said the increase in the minimum wage will provide much-needed assistance to working families and boost economic growth, the statement said.

The Law Center said the most rigorous economic research indicates raising a state's minimum wage boosts worker pay without creating job losses, even in regions with weak economies or high unemployment.