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Costco Is Raising Hourly Wages for Employees, According to an Internal Memo from the CEO In an internal memo sent on Monday, CEO Ron Vachris informed employees of the $1 an hour pay raise.

By Emily Rella Edited by Melissa Malamut

Key Takeaways

  • Costco CEO Ron Vachris informed hourly employees in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Canada that they are receiving a $1 an hour increase.
  • The new pay bump goes into effect on July 22.

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Hourly workers at Costco received a raise on Monday.

CEO Ron Vachris informed employees that all service assistants, service clerks, and meat cutters in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Canada would receive a $1 per hour pay bump, per an internal memo viewed by Business Insider.

Related: How to Claim Cash: Costco's $2 Million Class Action Lawsuit

The increase brings the lowest wage for hourly workers to $19.50 per hour, something Vachris said was part of the company's "continuing efforts to ensure our hourly wages remain highly competitive in the industry."

The new rates will be effective on July 22 and will affect all hourly workers regardless of where they land on the company's pay scale.

As of the end of 2023, the median annual income for a Costco employee was $50,202. According to ZipRecruiter, the average hourly pay for a Costco employee in the U.S. is currently $22.20 an hour.

The popular warehouse chain hiked hourly wages by $0.50 in March, making this the second major increase in 2024.

"Since January, my time has been focused on working closely with the teams around the world to ensure we continue to deliver the best quality merchandise at our best value for our members," Vachris said in praise of the company's employees during a call with investors in May. "I'm incredibly proud of our employees, and I believe our consistency of results is a reflection of their commitment to our members and to each other."

Related: Costco CEO: Membership Card Is 'Most Important Item We Sell'

Costco reported strong fiscal Q3 2024 earnings with net sales of $57.39 billion, a 9.1% increase from the period last year.

The warehouse chain was up 67% year over year as of Wednesday morning.

Emily Rella

Senior News Writer

Emily Rella is a Senior News Writer at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was an editor at Verizon Media. Her coverage spans features, business, lifestyle, tech, entertainment, and lifestyle. She is a 2015 graduate of Boston College and a Ridgefield, CT native. Find her on Twitter at @EmilyKRella.

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