by Abby Peterson, State Editor

New recommendations to increase the statewide minimum wage were approved by the Minimum Wage Advisory Council Monday.

The Minimum Wage Advisory Council, a group set up by Gov. Doyle to make recommendations on the issue, voted 16-2 to increase minimum wage from its current rate of $5.15 per hour to $5.70 per hour in 2004 and $6.50 per hour in 2005. The council approved a two-part increase, spreading out the proposed wage hike over the span of two years.

“I want to thank the council for recognizing the need to raise wages for Wisconsin’s working families,” Gov. Doyle said in a statement. “These new wage rates will mean more money in the pockets of our lowest-paid citizens, and will be a stimulus for our economy as these individuals have additional buying power to support themselves and their families.”

According to estimates made by the Department of Workforce Development, more than 100,000 Wisconsin residents would be affected by the first phase of the wage hike, and 150,000 would benefit from the second-year salary increase.

Nearly one-third of individuals presently earning minimum wage work full time. Almost two out of every three minimum-wage workers are female.

The recommendations need to be proposed as a bill and passed by state legislature in order to be enacted across the state.

Madison is currently considering its own minimum wage increase. Ald. Austin King, a leader in the effort to raise the city’s minimum wage, said although statewide recommendations might be appropriate for other areas of Wisconsin, Madison needs a higher minimum wage than the “modest” recommendations made Monday.

“I didn’t expect them to come out with $7.75,” King said. “[But] Madison has a higher cost of living and a lower unemployment rate, so of course we need a higher minimum wage.”