The increase is the last step up in the minimum wage rate and will mean $14 more per week, or $728 a year, for those working full time.

With Labor Day weekend underway, the country is taking a day to recognize the achievements of the American worker.

As part of the recognition of American workers, the current pay scale comes to mind and more specifically, the minimum wage levels.

As part of the passing of the Workforce Opportunity Wage Act, Public Act 138, the minimum wage has grown over the past three years and has distanced itself from the $7.40 rate the state required before Sept. 1, 2014.

As part of the increase, on Jan. 1, 2018, employers will now be required to raise their minimum wage rate 35 cents, from $8.90 per hour to $9.25 per hour.

The increase is the last step up in the minimum wage rate and will mean $14 more per week, or $728 a year, for those working full time.

The increase will also impact the rate employers can pay employees who are under 18 years of age. According to the Workforce Opportunity Wage Act, employers can pay these employees 85 percent of the minimum wage total, which means that rate will increase from $7.57 to $7.86 per hour.

Various industries will be impacted differently by the upcoming increase, whether they currently pay the minimum wage rate or not.

Shannon Burkel is the executive vice president of staffing solutions for Axios HR and through the staffing portion of the agency, she works with a number of companies who will be impacted by the minimum wage increase.

“I hear about the minimum wage increase everyday, and that is not an exaggeration,” Burkel said. “I think when I go out to clients, no matter what capacity it is, there is not a conversation that isn’t talking about competitiveness or increase in the minimum wage road map.”

Burkel said that many of the companies she works with are slightly above the minimum wage level, closer to the $10-11 range, and have increased employee pay during the earlier rounds of the wage increase.

“I don’t think this last round will have as much of a volume of change as the first couple did because most of the companies just went for it,” she said. “Some just said they were going to increase two dollars and they did that last year or the year prior. They figured they would just get through it and go up to $10 or $11 and call it good for now.”

The area Burkel said she still sees making the increases are the retail, entertainment and leisure space. In the manufacturing industry, most are already above the minimum wage rate.

Jennifer Owens, of Lakeshore Advantage, works with mostly primarily employers, companies that export goods and services out of the region and bring wealth back into the region.

From her perspective, the industries that will be the most impacted are the restaurants, retail and service industries. Owens warned that with the increase in minimum wage, there is the possibly that the prices of goods and services could also increase.

“As a consumer, with the increased wage, for companies that this does impact, they will likely have to increase their prices to make up for the increase in wages,” Owens said. “As a consumer, you may see an impact on the goods and services that you buy as a result of the increase in minimum wage.”

Beyond 2018, Michigan’s rate will change based on inflation.

Beginning in January 2019, the minimum wage will be adjusted based on the average annual percentage change in the Midwestern consumer price index over a five-year period. The increase will be capped at 3.5 percent, and there will be no increase if the state unemployment rate is 8.5 percent or higher.

The federal minimum wage has remained consistent since 2009 and is currently $7.25 per hour, but 29 states and Washington, D.C., currently have minimum wages higher than that.

— Follow this reporter on Twitter @SentinelAustin or @BizHolland.