Hobby Lobby to raise minimum wage to $17 per hour

Hobby Lobby Stores is poised to become one of the highest-paying U.S. retailers when it comes to starting wages for full-time workers. 

The arts and crafts retailer, which operates 932 stores nationwide and has more than 43,000 employees, is raising its minimum wage for full-time employees to $17 per hour, effective October 1, 2020. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. 

In 2009, Hobby Lobby was one of the first retailers to establish a nationwide minimum hourly wage well above the federal minimum, the company noted, and it has since raised its minimum wage ten times over the last eleven years. In 2014, Hobby Lobby raised its full-time minimum hourly wage to $15, "well before it became fashionable with other retailers,” the company added.

Target raised its minimum wage to $15 per hour in July. Amazon raised its minimum wage to $15 per hour in 2018; Costco did the same in 2019. The hikes for all three retailers applied to both full- and part-time employees.

“We have always worked hard to be a retail leader when it comes to taking care of our people,” said Hobby Lobby founder and CEO, David Green. “Because this year has presented so many challenges to our employees, we are very happy that we are able to provide pay increases to thousands of our associates before the Christmas season.”