(FOXNEWS) — NEW YORK – McDonald's says it's raising pay for workers at its company-owned U.S. restaurants, making it the latest employer to sweeten worker incentives in an improving economy.
The company owns about 10 percent of its more than 14,300 U.S. restaurants, representing about 90,000 workers. The rest are run by franchisees, and McDonald's said they "make their own decisions on pay and benefits" for workers.
The announcement comes as several other major companies including, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., have announced wage hikes as the economy has picked up and made it more difficult to find reliable workers. Over the past 12 months, the unemployment rate has dropped to 5.5 percent from 6.7 percent.
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Several cities and states also moved to raise their minimum wages in the past year, while the federal rate has remained at $7.25 an hour.
