Christine Hoffman smiled and pinched her ear lobes.
“A dollar fifty at Forever 21,” the 21-year-old economics junior said.
Hoffman wore pearl earrings on her fourth day as a student assistant at Warrington College of Business, and she was already making more than the assistant from last semester.
Florida employees started the new year with a 12-cent wage bump. The per hour minimum wage rate rose from $7.67 to $7.79 on Jan. 1.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the rate in Florida increases annually based on a cost-of-living formula. Florida is one of 10 states that raised the minimum wage in 2013.
The rate is higher than the federal minimum wage, $7.25 per hour.
Wantanisha Morant, financial aid coordinator at UF, said the average student works 20 hours a week. Under the new rate, students earn an extra $2.40 each week, she said.
Although minimum wage is on the rise, an additional Medicare tax has also gone into effect. The 0.9 percent rate of additional Medicare tax applies to wages and compensation for individuals filing single status making $200,000, according to the Internal Revenue Service.
Joshua Acree, a 21-year-old psychology senior, has worked at Chick-fil-A for more than a year. Although he makes above minimum wage, he approved of the increase.
“I think it’s great, especially for college students that need the money to pay for school,” he said. “Every dollar matters.”
