Paychecks

from $12/hour to $15/hour,” she said in an email.

Banks are among the industries most likely to benefit from lower corporate tax rates.

Chase’s initiative also will result in the development of hundreds of new branches across the nation, more small-business and lending commitments, and increased donations to charities.

Chase is among Arizona’s dozen or so largest non-government employers with about 10,400 statewide workers.

Chase said these and other longterm investments are “made possible by the firm’s strong and sustained business performance, recent changes to the U.S. corporate tax system and a more constructive regulatory and business environment.”

Washington Federal, which operates banks in Arizona and seven other Western states, recently said it will give 5 percent merit increases to employees earning less than $100,000 annually, and invest substantially more in training programs to help workers upgrade technological and client-service skills. The company has nearly 200 employees in Arizona.

Western Alliance, parent of Alliance Bank of Arizona and other businesses, has increased the base pay and bonuses for its lowest 50 percent of workers — those earning $75,000 or less. The total compensation increase for this group will approximate 10 percent.

Some companies also are beefing up benefits. Walmart, for example, said it will provide financial assistance to workers adopting a child, in addition to expanded parental and maternity leave.

Western Alliance has boosted the match on its 401(k) retirement program. The company now contributes 75 cents for every $1 employees invest (on a portion of pay), up from 50 cents on the dollar previously.

Glenn Hamer, president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry, issued a statement citing the Walmart pay increases as made possible, in part, by federal income-tax reform and predicting the move will strengthen the Arizona economy.

The organization had opposed voter-approved Proposition 206, which increased the Arizona minimum wage to $10 an hour last year and to $10.50 this year.

Garrick Taylor, a spokesman for the chamber, said the organization still opposes government-mandated wage increases but not companies boosting pay on their own.

“In this case, Walmart was responding to a strong economy and competition for available talent,” he said.

Arizona’s labor market has indeed tightened. The state’s unemployment rate, which ended 2017 at 4.5 percent, has declined from 5 percent when the minimum wage was hiked to $10 one year earlier.