The minimum wage in the Northern Marianas will increase by 50 cents at the end of the month.
The territory's minimum rate is set to rise again as it slowly reaches a United States-mandated rate of US$7.25 an hour by 2018.
A planned increase last year was skipped.
However, the Saipan Chamber of Commerce says not all businesses will be able to afford to pay their staff US$6.55 from September 30.
It says one way the Northern Marianas government could cope with the wholesale increase is by introducing a salary range for each job category, a practice now being done American Samoa.
Guam's minimum wage is currently US$8.25 - $1 higher than the federal rate.
