Millions of Arizonans will see a bump in their paychecks as they ring in the new year.

The minimum wage will increase Jan. 1 from $10 to $10.50 an hour. This is the second year it has risen under Proposition 206, passed by voters in 2016.  

Tomas Robles, executive director of the grassroots organization Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA), helped lead the fight for a living wage.

He said it has gone a long way toward helping low-income families make ends meet as well as injecting millions of dollars of spending into the state’s economy.

“These tired and false predictions from the opposition, they need to be put away now," Robles said. "It’s proven every time that if you put more money in the hands of residents here in Arizona, they'll spend it. And that is what drives the economy.”

Opponents of the increase in wages, such as Gov. Doug Ducey and the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, warned that it would cost jobs. However, Robles said statistics show the opposite as the state’s jobless rate fell from 5 percent to 4.5 percent in 2017.

In 2019, the minimum wage will jump to $11 dollars an hour, then to $12 dollars in 2020. After 2021, it will be pegged to annual rises in inflation.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to correct the name of Tomas Robles.