The new pay hike brings the average hourly wage to $16.40 and it is the third pay increase this year for hourly employees.
The nation’s largest private employer is raising the hourly wages for more than 565,000 store employees in the frontend, food & consumable and general merchandise work groups by at least $1.00. The increase is effective 25 September.
With the new hike, Walmart has raised pay for approximately 1.2 million hourly associates in its US stores, increasing its US average hourly wage to $16.40, Walmart US President and CEO John Furner wrote in a memo to associates. It is the company’s third wage investment in store associates during the past year, he noted.
“2021 has been another trying year, with challenges that few could have predicted,” Furner wrote in the memo. “But amid the uncertainty, there has been one constant: YOU – our incredible associates – have continued to serve our customers and communities when they’ve needed it most. Thank you!”
The increase comes as retailers are gearing up for the holidays amid the country’s worst labour shortage in recent memory. Earlier this week, Walmart announced plans to hire 20,000 supply chain workers. In July, the company said it would pay 100 per cent of college tuition and books for employees through its expanded Live Better education program.
