Missouri's minimum wage will go up on Jan. 1, but not nearly as much as organizers of fast-food protests would like.

The protests, which are expected to resume this week at restaurants across the nation, are aimed at boosting the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $15. Missouri's minimum wage is set under the terms of a 2006 referendum, which called for annual inflation adjustments.

The Missouri wage floor rose from $7.35 an hour last year to $7.50 this year and another 15-cent increase, to $7.65, is likely next Jan. 1. State law calls for the inflation adjustment to be based on a July reading of the Midwest Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or Midwest CPI-W for short.

The federal Labor Department said last month that the Midwest CPI-W rose 1.8 percent between July 2013 and July 2014. That would boost Missouri's minimum wage to $7.64, but it would be rounded to the nearest nickel, or $7.65 an hour.

State officials usually announce the amount of the increase in November. Missouri is among 22 states that set a wage floor above the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour.

A message from David Nicklaus Want to stay smart about what's happening in St. Louis? Make a modest investment in a Post-Dispatch subscription and I'll tell you how developments around the world affect local businesses big and small. Subscribe today: Just $1 a month

The business news you need With a weekly newsletter looking back at local history. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.