Ontario's minimum wage just went up. Here's what you need to know

Nearly a million minimum wage earners in Ontario got a pay bump today.

Nearly a million minimum wage earners in Ontario got a pay bump today.

On Oct. 1, Ontario's minimum wage, the lowest wage employers are permitted to pay their workers per hour, rose from $15.50 to $16.55, a 6.8 per cent increase.

For a person earning the general minimum wage and working 40 hours a week, that equates to an annual raise of about $2,200.

Here's what you need to know about the new minimum wage:

Almost all workers in Ontario are eligible for minimum wage.

An estimated 900,000 employees received the increase Sunday, according to Ontario's Ministry of Labour, spanning a number of employment types. Full-time, part-time, and casual employees are all eligible, alongside those paid an hourly rate, a piece rate, a flat rate, by commission, or by salary.

A list of select jobs exempt from the minimum wage provisions can be found on the Ontario government’s website.