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Michigan minumum wage up 40 cents in 2017

Hourly workers in the Great Lakes State get a bump this week.

Michigan’s minimum wage went up Sunday from $8.50 to $8.90 per hour. It’s the second straight yearly increase under a 2014 law passed by Michigan legislators.

While the raise brings $16 more per week to hourly workers, MI Live business reporter Emily Lawler says the increase is not everything that minimum wage supporters had hoped.

"This specific law was passed to head off a ballot proposal that would have increased even further...up to $10.10 an hour" said Lawler. "It kind of raises wages, but it's not what advocates had asked for, initially, in Michigan."

Michigan’s $8.90 minimum wage ranks 15th-highest among US states.

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