Federal Minimum Wage Hike In Effect Today

Workers making federal minimum wage will get a pay hike today, but soaring gas and food prices may be eating up the difference in their paychecks. The second of three wage increases takes effect, boosting the minimum wage to six-dollars-55-cents an hour. Workers in nine states will see increases, while the rest of the country is already at or above that mark. Despite dropping oil prices, the average price Americans pay for gas still hovers around the four-dollar-a-gallon mark. Food prices are also on the rise, with predictions of as much as a five-percent increase from the Agriculture Department.