Target to up hourly base pay to $15 by end of 2020

NEW YORK -- Target Corp. is raising its minimum hourly wage to $11 starting next month and then to $15 by the end of 2020 in a move it says will help it better recruit and retain staff and provide a better shopping experience for its customers.

Target's initiative is part of its overall strategy to reinvent its business. But its move to increase entry-level hourly pay to $15 far exceeds not only the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour but the entry-level hourly base pay at Walmart, the nation's largest private employer, and at plenty of other retail peers whose minimum hourly pay hovers around $10.

The changes come at a time when there's growing concern for the hourly workers' plight. At the same time, competition for workers is becoming increasingly stiff.