The minimum wage for most isle employers will increase to $7.75 per hour starting the first of the new year. The state’s $7.25 an hour minimum wage had not been increased since 2007.

The increase will help generate economic activity and strengthen Hawaii’s economy, Dwight Takamine, director of the state Labor Department, said Wednesday in a news release.

"This increase will boost consumer demand and jobs because minimum and low-wage workers spend most if not all of their increased wages," Takamine said.

The state House and Senate reached an agreement in April to gradually increase the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour by January 2018.

The minimum wage will rise to $8.50 per hour on Jan. 1, 2016, and $9.25 per hour on Jan. 1, 2017.

Tipped employees may be paid 50 cents below the minimum wage beginning on Jan. 1, 2015, and 75 cents below the minimum wage beginning on Jan. 1, 2016, as long as the combined amount the employee receives from the employer and tips is at least $7 more than the minimum wage.

The increase will bring Hawaii above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

Hawaii is one of 10 states that approved an increase in the minimum wage in 2014.

Legislatures in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and Washington, D.C., enacted increases during the 2014 session.