- Walgreens is raising its minimum hourly wage to $15 amid the labor shortage.
- Gradual raises will start this October, with full implementation expected by November 2022.
- CVS announced a $15 minimum wage earlier this month. Amazon, Costco, and Target also meet the standard.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Walgreens announced Tuesday that it will raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour, following CVS Health's pay increase announced earlier this month.
Walgreens employees will start to see gradual raises starting this October, the company said. The pharmacy expects the minimum wage to be fully in effect in all 9,000 stores by November 2022.
The salary hike follows similar moves by competitors to raise worker compensation during the national labor shortage. Retailers Amazon, Costco, and Target also offer a $15 minimum wage. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25.
"Investing in and rewarding our team members is not only the right thing to do, it's highly important to retaining and attracting a talented workforce, and to continuing to serve our critical role in community health care," said the CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Roz Brewer.
In a statement, Walgreens said it expects to invest a total of $450 million on the wage increase over the next three years. It added that bonus payments and hiring initiatives rolled out throughout the pandemic have led to the hiring of 25,000 full-time and part-time workers.
As the labor shortage continues to impact small businesses and large corporations across the US, experts say higher pay is the only real solution. For the past five decades, the average worker's wage has not kept up with the country's increased cost of living, Insider's Ben Winck and Andy Kiersz reported in May.
According to Indeed, a typical Walgreens cashier currently makes around $10.72 per hour, while a sales associate is paid around $9.33 an hour. The highest-paid position listed on the site is a senior merchandise manager, making over $130,000 a year.