On the rise in Washington state: Today So Far

• Minimum wage is set to go up in Seattle, and Washington state.
• Also on the rise are gas prices, and soon, utility bills.

This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for October 5, 2022.

Things are on the rise around Washington state these days. Fair warning: I'm going to throw a lot of numbers at you today. That is sort of a news no-no. But I have faith in TSF readers.

For starters, Seattle's minimum wage will go up in 2023. How much it goes up depends on where you work. Large employers (more than 500 employees), and other businesses that don't contribute toward medical benefits, will start paying at least $18.69 per hour on Jan. 1. Small businesses that do contribute to health insurance will have a minimum rate of $16.50 per hour. Depending on where someone falls in that range, this adds up to a 75 cent or a $1.42 raise.

At the same time, Washington state's minimum wage will rise to $15.74 per hour. That's a $1.25 raise (an increase of 8.66%), which is tied to inflation. This makes Washington state's minimum wage the highest in the United States.

Also on the rise are utility bills. Seattle City Light raised rates 6% a couple weeks ago (5.6% for businesses). Now Puget Sound Energy aims to raise its rates, too. The utility, that covers much of Western Washington, is asking permission from the state's Utilities and Transportation Commission to hike rates. If the state approves, the average PSE customer can expect a rate increase of $8 in 2023, and about $2 in 2024. Gas customers would see a rate increase of $5 in 2023, and $1 in 2024. PSE says it needs to raise rates because of "rising natural gas prices, state policy objectives for clean energy, and continued investments in system reliability and safety." Read more here.

And once again, gas prices are heading higher. Gas prices were on a 14-week decline before prices began rebounding in late September.

The current average for a gallon of regular gas in Washington state is $5.35, according to AAA. That's 2 cents up from yesterday, and 25 cents up from a week ago. A month ago, it was $4.68. Some of the highest prices are in King County where the average is $5.56.

In short, this all adds up to rising prices at the pump by a few cents each day. All the usual suspects are behind this trend: production snafus, hurricanes, and overseas conflicts. GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan says that gas prices are more or less severe in different parts of the USA.

“Some West Coast states saw prices rise 35 to 55 cents per gallon in the last week as refinery issues continued to impact gasoline supply, which fell to its lowest level in a decade in the region, causing prices to skyrocket," De Haan said. "While I’m hopeful there will eventually be relief, prices could go a bit higher before cooling off. In addition, OPEC could decide to cut oil production by a million barrels as the global economy slows down, potentially creating a catalyst that could push gas prices up further.”

De Haan made that statement in an Oct. 3 blog post. NPR reported this morning that the OPEC+ alliance will cut oil production by 2 million barrels a day. That move is expected to cause gas prices to tick up even further.

AS SEEN ON KUOW

Fans celebrate the Mariners playoff berth at T-Mobile Park on Friday, September 30, 2022. (Casey Martin / KUOW)

DID YOU KNOW?

October is Filipino American History Month. It was established in 1992, making this the 30th year of the celebration. But the presence of Filipinos in what is now the USA goes back much, much further, to before there was ever a United States.

When European kingdoms began to spread and colonize South and North America, one such expansion was New Spain. Spanish territories in what is Mexico today, all the way to the Philippines, were included in New Spain. The Spanish moved laborers, sailors, and soldiers (all of which included Filipinos) around its territories in the 1500s and 1600s. That is why people from the Philippines saw the West Coast before anyone from the United States (formed in the 1700s) ever did. We often talk about Lewis and Clark's journey to the Northwest. Spanish ships with Filipino sailors were going up and down the coast long before that. In fact, Filipinos established a settlement in Louisiana in the 1700s and fought with the U.S. against the British in the Battle of New Orleans in 1815, and also in the Civil War (along with Chinese immigrants).

The United States also helped Filipinos kick Spain out of the Philippines in the late 1800s ... before taking it over for itself (side note: Mark Twain didn't like this). The U.S. ultimately acknowledged the Philippines' sovereignty in 1946. During U.S. occupation, the Filipino-American population dramatically rose on the mainland. Today. Filipinos are the second largest Asian-American group in the USA.

ALSO ON OUR MINDS

Russia and Saudi Arabia agree to massive cuts to oil output. Here's why it matters

The OPEC+ alliance announced a 2 million barrels a day cut in oil production Wednesday — an amount that could drive oil and gas prices back up after weeks on a downward trend.

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