New Brunswick’s minimum wage is set to rise to $15.65 per hour in April.
This will be a 35-cent increase from the current rate of $15.30 per hour, according to the government’s release.
“As the cost of living rises, it is important that we continue to raise wages, but the minimum wage is just one tool that we have to help New Brunswickers earn more,” Jean-Claude D’Amours, acting minister of post-secondary education, training and labour, said in the release.
Last year, six per cent of all employees in the province earned the minimum wage, down from 6.7 per cent in 2023.
Fifty-six per cent of minimum wage earners worked part-time, and 32 per cent were between the ages of 15 and 19.
“Our government understands that trying to get by on minimum wage is tough,” D’Amours said.
He explained the province is focused on promoting post-secondary education, by providing support through WorkingNB to help people connect with and prepare for better-paying jobs.
D’Amours is also encouraging participation in apprenticeship programs through Skilled Trades NB.
The minimum wage rate is indexed to New Brunswick’s consumer price index and is rounded to the nearest five cents.
The consumer price index increased by 2.2 per cent in 2024.
