Crafting Joy for Workers, Hobby Lobby Announces a Wage Hike

It’s a good day to be a Hobby Lobby employee and wake up to the news of another wage hike. The arts and crafts supply store recently announced that it has increased the starting wages for its employees again, making this the thirteenth increment since 2009. Hobby Lobby’s 2024 pay hike went into effect on October 1, 2024, so employees who apply to the company now should be able to benefit from the change. 

In a press release on the company website, Hobby Lobby announced the minimum wage increase along with a brief description of the other benefits available to its employees, painting an appealing picture for workers who have been run down by the otherwise disheartening state of the job market today. Earlier last month, Aldi also announced wage increases along with a hiring surge that could open up multiple new jobs across the country in the upcoming months.

Image: Hobby Lobby

Hobby Lobby Announces Wage Hike Across Stores

Hobby Lobby’s starting wage is being increased to $19.25 USD effective immediately. The increase in minimum full-time hourly wage will add up to an annual salary of around $40,000 USD for those working a 40-hour workweek. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the national median for retail workers to be around $16.19 USD or $36,675 USD per year. This makes Hobby Lobby’s 2024 pay hike a whole 19% higher than the national median wage for retail workers. 

“A pillar of our success is taking care of our employees,” Hobby Lobby founder and CEO, David Green explained in the company post. “For decades, we have closed our stores on Sundays, and at 8:00 p.m. the rest of the week, to help employees balance their work and personal lives, and have time for rest, family, and worship. We work hard to provide some of the best wages and benefits in retail, which allows us to attract and retain a great team of associates to serve our loyal customers.” 

The initiative to consider the well-being of the workforce despite the issues of inflation and lowered purchasing power of citizens shows us a more positive side to working a retail job. These roles are often treated as temporary sources of employment and largely insufficient to sustain a family. Most employees move on to other opportunities as soon as possible in pursuit of a better wage, but more sustainable pay could improve the turnover numbers and garner employee loyalty. 

Hobby Lobby’s Business is Set on a Path Towards Growth

Not only has Hobby Lobby raised the starting pay for employees, but the company has also showcased its success with the opening of multiple new stores across the U.S. in the last few months. Success like this is hard to emulate with the current state of the economy but the arts and crafts chain has cracked the code to finding a sustainable model. The business already employs around 46,000 employees across 48 states, and Hobby Lobby’s minimum wage increase will uniformly apply to all of them.

Along with Hobby Lobby’s current wage hike, the shopping chain also provides other fiscal and medical benefits like a medical and dental plan, 401(k) with generous company match, a flexible spending plan, life insurance, etc. 

Employees also have access to long-term disability benefits and vacation pay, holiday pay, employee discounts, etc. These can cumulatively improve the quality of life for any employee, and ensure they are not negatively affected by the instability in the economy. 

Recently, we also witnessed Bank of America raise the hourly wages for its employees, which shows that such hikes are occurring across industries. They’re happening on a small scale to be sure, but they are taking place nonetheless.

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