>Costco is increasing its pay to more than $30 an hour for hundreds of thousands of workers, with clerks at the top of the retailer's pay scale set to make almost $32 an hour in March. >Costco — which employs 272,000 people across the United States and in Canada — says its workers will soon receive hourly increases of 50 cents to one dollar, continuing its strategy of keeping ahead of the competition when it comes to worker compensation. >"We believe our hourly wages and benefits will continue to far outpace others in the retail industry," Ron Vachris, the retailer's president and CEO, said in a memo Tuesday to employees. >How much will Costco workers earn? The Issaquah, Washington-based retailer will pay top-of-the-scale clerks $31.90 an hour and top-of-the-scale assistants $30.20 an hour, starting in March. The latest version of a three-year employee agreement calls for two additional $1 hourly increases in March 2026 and March 2027, Costco said. >Bottom-of-scale clerks and assistants are getting 50-cent hourly increases, making $21 and $20 per hour, respectively. >The company is also adding vacation time for new employees during their first year, and giving workers with 30 years of employment an additional week of time off, providing six weeks in all. . . [Source](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/costco-hourly-pay-raise-increase-workers-32-an-hour/)