Costco’s hourly employees are the latest U.S. retail workers to get a boost from the Trump tax cuts.
On June 11, Costco will increase the starting wage for its U.S. employees by $1 to as much as $14.50 an hour, while other hourly wage rates will increase 25 to 50 cents an hour.
Costco profit jumped about 7 percent in its fiscal third quarter to $750 million or $1.70 a share, matching analyst expectations.
The wage increases will help Costco keep to its strategy of offering employees total compensation that executive say leads the retail industry.
Costco competitors including Target and Walmart announced wage increases and bonuses for their employees tied to the tax cuts earlier this year.
Some 54 percent of Costco employees in a recent PayScale survey thought their compensation was fair, compared to 21 percent of all employees in the survey.
Costco is indeed trying to communicate its pay practices, and relative compensation, more clearly to employees. »