Dive Brief:

• Target will increase its minimum wage for employees to $9 an hour starting next month, the Wall Street Journal reports. 
• The Journal reports that Target does not plan to announce the increase, but that store managers have been telling employees about the move in the past few days. 

Dive Insight:

After both Wal-Mart and TJX (owner of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods) recently announced their own wage hikes, many eyes have been on Target to see if the retailer would respond with a similar move.

The moves by Wal-Mart, TJX, and now Target come as competition for lower wage workers increases with the growth of the overall U.S. workforce. Target may have felt pressured to increase its minimum wage to attract and retain employees. 

Target currently pays some of its workers wages above $9 an hour in parts of the country with higher living costs.