Dive Brief:

• A survey commissioned by the National Restaurant Association found that 71% of Americans favor raising the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour to at least $10 an hour, even if they have to pay more for meals, according to The Intercept.
• The trade association for the food service industry opposes a minimum wage increase, often citing an increase in restaurant meal costs. The leaked poll results show that most Americans are fine with that tradeoff, undercutting the association's talking points, The Intercept reports.
• A recent Adecco survey showed similar results: 70% of respondents said they support increasing the minimum wage. Of those, 39% percent say it should be raised "minimally" and 31% feel it should be raise "significantly."

Dive Insight:

While employers generally are working to slow or halt efforts to increase minimum wage rates at the local, state and federal levels, some have, for now, increased pay rates as a way to compete in the tight labor market.

Big names in retail, especially, took this route during last year's holiday hiring push. But some have promised to maintain that course; Target, for example, announced last month that it is raising it's minimum wage to $12 per hour, and that by the end of 2020, current employees will earn $15 an hour.

Still, wages remain stagnant overall, while many employers remain cautious about the economy. Instead, they're offering flexible work schedules, paid leave, personalized benefits, career development and more to attract and retain talent.