Oregon workers earning the minimum wage get a raise Sunday.

The minimum wage in the Portland area will jump 6.7 percent, or 75 cents, to $12 an hour. For a full-time employee, that works out to more than $1,500 extra a year – and nearly $4,700 additional since spring 2017.

Sunday's increase is the second in a series of annual hikes approved in 2016 that will raise the minimum wage in the Portland area to $14.75 an hour in 2022. The minimum wage in the Portland area jumped more than 15 percent last year, the first year of the new pay schedule.

Oregon lawmakers approved the more aggressive set of minimum wage hikes in hopes of reducing the income disparities between the state's wealthiest residents and those at the bottom of the pay scale.

The minimum wage applies differently across the state, accounting for varying costs of living. In most of the state, outside the Portland area, the hourly minimum wage will climb 50 cents to $10.75 beginning Sunday. It will be $10.50 in 18 largely rural counties.

Oregon has one of the highest minimum hourly wages in the nation. For comparison, it's $13.25 in the District of Columbia, $11.50 in Washington, $11 in Massachusetts and California.

Like Oregon, though, some cites and other jurisdictions have higher minimum wages. In Seattle it's $15 an hour for large employers paying medical benefits, of $15.45 for those that don't have any medical benefits.

The Oregon Employment Department estimated 7.4 percent of all Oregon jobs paid the minimum wage as of last summer, 160,000 altogether. The average hourly wage for all employed Oregonians is $18.59.

Economists remain split on the broader economic impact of minimum wage hikes. Some findings suggest employers begin cutting jobs when hourly minimums grow too high; others say higher minimums have a relatively modest impact on employment while reducing workers' dependence on public services.

The Oregon Office of Economic Analysis estimates that, by 2025, the state will have 40,000 fewer jobs than if it hadn't adopted it higher minimum wages. Those aren't laid-off workers, generally speaking; rather, it reflects a very small decline in job growth over the next several years.

With Oregon's economy growing and the jobless rate at an all-time low, 4.1 percent, businesses are already experiencing a severe labor shortage. Companies report that nearly two-thirds of job openings are hard to fill with qualified applicants.

Such conditions will muffle the impact of Oregon's rising minimum wage, according to Oregon state economist Josh Lehner.

"In the tight labor market today," he said, "the minimum wage rising is less of an issue, or it is less binding as worker's wages are going up due to the strong economy."

Correction: Portland's minimum wage climbs by 75 cents an hour Sunday, while the hourly minimum climbs by 50 cents in other parts of the state. This article's headline originally stated the 75 cent increase is statewide.

-- Mike Rogoway | twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699