In the New Year, minimum wages in Colorado managed to drop slightly, making it the first state in the US to record a fall in minimum wages since the federal minimum's adoption in 1938.

Figures have confirmed that wages across Colorado are falling by the rate of 3 cents per hour, from $7.28 to the federal level of $7.25, and the main reason for the drop seems to be the fact that Colorado is one of 10 states that have tied the state's minimum wage to the level of inflation. The aim of the move is to make sure that low-wage workers are protected against being handed unchanged paychecks, despite that fact the cost of living has gone up.

The provision set by the state, however, also allows decline in wages, and during the past year, Colorado's consumer price index declined by 0.6%, so the minimum wage has also slipped.

It has been estimated that the much lower consumer price index, mainly on the back of lower fuel prices, should have actually forced the wage to go down by 4 cents an hour, but no state is allowed to go below the decided federal minimum of $7.25.

Although the drop is slight, many among the estimated 48,000 Colorado residents who are on the minimum wage have expressed concerns over the possibility of pay cuts.