Number of the Day

Retailers Throwing Low-Wage Workers a Bone, by the Numbers

Walmart and Hobby Lobby announced increases to the hourly wage they pay their employees

$17: That’s the minimum hourly wage that Oklahoma-based arts-and-crafts chain Hobby Lobby will pay its full-time employees, starting October 1, the company announced last week.

Walmart, America’s biggest private employer, also announced last week that it would be raising hourly wages for 165,000 of its workers, or 11% of its U.S. workforce, as part of a revamp of its operating model in Walmart Supercenters. Employees in newly designated team leadership roles will earn a starting hourly wage between $18 and $21, and deli and bakery employees will get a raise from $11 to $15. This follows moves by Best Buy and Target, which raised their starting hourly wages earlier this summer.

Raising the pay of low-wage earners is a welcome move, but also a surprising one right now, given that the nation’s unemployment rate is at a historically high level, with 860,000 unemployment claims being filed just last week. Retailers may be bracing for what looks to be a highly uncertain holiday shopping season that will be driven by online orders and curbside pickup, and are doing their best to retain and motivate…