Target said on Wednesday that it would increase the pay of its workers to at least $9 an hour, joining retailers like Walmart and TJX in raising its hourly wage in a more competitive job market and facing pressure from labor groups.

Target, a retailer with about 347,000 workers in the United States, has begun telling them that they will start to receive higher wages this spring, according to a person with knowledge of the company’s plans. The retailer has said it already pays all of its employees more than the federal minimum wage, $7.25 an hour.

Brian Cornell, Target’s chief executive, told financial analysts this month that the company would make sure that it remained “very competitive from a wage standpoint.” Target said that it did not expect those efforts to affect its earnings.

Molly Snyder, a Target spokeswoman, said the company did not disclose pay, but that it was continuously evaluating pay levels.