Costco To Raise Starting Wage To $14/Hour

(RTTNews) - Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) will raise its minimum wage and boost pay for 130,000 U.S. store staff, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The retail chain reportedly said it would increase its starting hourly wages by $1 to $14 or $14.50 an hour. Other hourly workers will receive raises of between 25 cents and 50 cents. The new wages take effect on June 11.

Walmart, which raised its starting wage to $11 an hour earlier this year, said Wednesday it would pay for online college courses for its U.S. workers as it tries to attract and retain talent.

Costco Wholesale Corp. today reported that its total comparable sales for the third-quarter increased 10.2 percent, with a 9.7 percent increase in U.S., a 11.3 percent rise in Canada, and Other International comparable sales rose 11.8 percent. E-commerce sales were up 36.8 percent.