Austin High School senior Emily Weiss is saving for college.

Active in volleyball, dance and track, she balances her school work and activities with her job reshelving books at the Austin Public Library.

“I like how it’s relaxing, and everyone is here because they want to be here, so that’s nice,” she said.

Weiss has worked at the library for about a year, and her college fund is about to get bigger faster.

With the federal minimum wage increasing from $6.55 to $7.25 an hour Friday, Weiss will be able to have more when she begins college courses next year.

“I won’t notice it much because it’s direct deposit, but it will add up fast,” she said.”

According to the United States Department of Labor, the minimum wage was 25 cents in 1938 and has gradually increased over the years.

The wage reached $1 in 1956, $2 in 1974, $3.10 in 1980, $4.25 in 1991, $5.15 in 1997 and $6.55 in 2008.

From 1997 to 2006, there was no increase, but in the last three years, the wage has increased each year as a result of legislation that staggered an increase over a three-year period ending this year.

The wage for 2007 increased from $5.15 to $5.85, with minimum wage employees seeing an increase of more than $2 an hour from 2006 to 2009.

Christopher Phelan, professor of economics at the University of Minnesota, said a federal minimum wage increase is generally more supported by Democrats than Republicans and added that the recent increase won’t affect the majority of Minnesota workers.

“What we’re talking about are classes of workers who haven’t had their wage bid up to $7.25 to begin with and are usually young, inexperienced or uneducated,” he said.

According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor, in 2008, there were 1.5 million paid hourly workers in Minnesota, with 40,000 at or below minimum wage.

The department’s Web site states that the new $7.25 federal minimum wage includes employers that produce or handle goods for interstate commerce, businesses with annual dollar volume of business of $500,000 or more and certain other businesses, including hospitals and nursing homes, private and public schools, and federal, state and local government agencies.

The federal training wage is $4.90 and may be paid to new employees under the age of 20 during the first 90 days of employment. A $5.25 wage can be paid to small employers whose annual sales volume is less than $500,000 and who are not engaged in interstate commerce.

Minnesota’s large employer minimum wage — for businesses whose sales are $625,000 or more —is $6.15, but according to the U.S. Department of Labor, in cases where employees are subject to both state and federal minimum wage laws, the employee is entitled to the higher of the two wages.

Phelan said the new wage will impact any business currently paying at or near minimum wage, but it’s not likely to have a disastrous effect on Minnesota’s small businesses in the long run.

“There’s always somebody about to go out of business in good times and in bad … and that’s going to be true here,” he said.

Phelan also added that the wage increase may cause businesses to rethink whether to keep a minimum wage employee.

“Minimum wage doesn’t say you have to pay more; it says if you hire them you have to pay more,” Phelan said. “Every small business will be asking the same question, ‘Is this person worth it to me?’ ”

Phelan also discussed the weakened economy as a whole and while he didn’t predict when he thinks the current crisis will end, he did say that on average, a big financial crisis can take a year or two to work itself out.

“Recessions end,” he said.

Trisha Wiechmann, human resources director with the City of Austin, said about 40 individuals will be affected by the minimum wage increase, with most being temporary seasonal employees and most coming in the department of parks, recreation and forestry, including some working at the swimming pool.

Kim Underwood, parks and rec director, said 33 employees will be affected in her department, but added that the increase will not have a substantial impact to parks and rec, even despite recent Local Government Aid reductions. She also said that staffing levels will not change.

“Is it going to be a huge issue? No,” she said. “Are we going to deal with it? Yes.”

As for Weiss, she’ll just keep working and saving.

“All of it is for college right now,” she said.