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Target wage hike makes an important difference for struggling Las Vegas families

Posted at 6:39 PM, Sep 25, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-25 21:39:25-04

Target has announced it will be paying every employee at least $11 per hour starting next month.

It's a hopeful bit of news for people in the Las Vegas valley struggling to make ends meet.

Blythe Chadwick attended a job fair at Gold Coast hotel-casino Monday, looking for any opportunity she could find.

She's been out of work for a month, and her family is missing her income.

"We're budgeted well but there's really no leeway on either side outside of the bills," Chadwick said.

Chadwick says she would take a minimum-wage position at this point.

Hearing about Target's wage hike caught Chadwick's interest.

Target's minimum is only a few dollars more an hour than Nevada's $8.25 per hour minimum, but over the course of a year, that's a difference of almost $6,000, assuming a 40-hour work week.

Chadwick thought about what the salary would mean for her family.

"Being able to save for the future, being able to make repairs to our home, being able to get my son what he needs when he needs it, giving him a birthday party, Christmas," she said.

Target has said the wage increase will apply to seasonal holiday workers this year. The company also announced it will be paying $15 per hour by the end of 2020.