Against opposition in the House and Senate, the president on Saturday lent his voice to the cause of increasing the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour.

The Guardian reports:

Obama’s address came a day after new figures showed that the US added 175,000 jobs in February, a larger rise than had been expected, but also that the unemployment rate rose to 6.7%.

With the 2014 midterm elections in mind, Democrats and Republicans are targeting those who are not doing so well out of the general if slow national economic recovery.

Citing a number of large and small businesses he said had raised wage payments voluntarily and without “waiting for Congress to make up its mind” – including two giants, Gap and Costco – Obama said: “I agree with these business owners, which is why I issued an executive order requiring federal contractors to pay their employees a fair wage of at least $10.10 an hour.

Read more here.

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.