Washington's minimum wage will not increase in 2016

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington state's minimum wage will not increase next year, and the state will no longer have the highest statewide minimum wage as of January.

State officials announced that the current minimum wage of $9.47 an hour will not increase because inflation, as measured by the national Consumer Price Index, did not increase over the past year. That index decreased 0.3 percent.

It's only the second time that there has not been an increase since the state since voters approved an initiative in 1998 to adjust the minimum wage with inflation. Under that law, the minimum wage can't be decreased. The last time the minimum wage was not increased was in 2010.

Even though Washington has had the highest minimum wage in the country for years, on Jan. 1, California and Massachusetts will reach $10 per hour.