Wal-Mart to raise its minimum wage to $9 an hour

Wal-Mart will give a half-million employees pay raises.

The discount retail giant announced that hourly workers will earn at least $1.75 above the current federal minimum wage - or $9 - starting in April.

By next February, pay will rise to at least $10 an hour.

Wal-Mart CEO, Douglas McMillon spoke about the new pay structure at the Bentonville, Arkansas store Feb. 19.

"The changes that we're making include structural changes in the stores, wage increases, training pro