WILLIMANTIC—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) today released a new report on the impact the minimum wage currently has on middle class families in Connecticut, highlighting the urgent need to raise the federal minimum wage to help more families make ends meet in a still-fragile economy.

“Middle class wages have simply not kept pace with the cost of living in Connecticut,” said Murphy. “Since the beginning of the Great Recession in 2009, costs on basic necessities like child care, electricity, and transportation have risen dramatically, but wages for the vast majority of workers have fallen. Raising the federal minimum wage will create jobs—it will put more cash into the pockets of the people who need it and who will also spend it in their communities. That gives local economies a big boost.”   

Murphy called on Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, which would increase the yearly income of full-time minimum wage earners by $3,000, and add $156 million to Connecticut's GDP.

Murphy was joined by Lori Pelletier of the Connecticut AFL-CIO and Briana Fernandez, young woman who has struggled to live on the minimum wage in Connecticut.

Click HERE to read the report.