(Reuters) -Bank of America raised its minimum hourly wage to $25 per hour across the United States, the lender said on Wednesday, fulfilling its 2021 pledge to meet the threshold.

The second-largest U.S. bank has increased its minimum hourly pay by nearly 67% since 2018. The company was most recently paying a minimum wage of $24 per hour.

With the latest increase, the minimum annualized salary for full-time BofA employees in the United States will exceed $50,000, the bank said.

The move comes at a challenging time for the U.S. labor market, with meager job gains and rising unemployment posing risks to consumer spending as companies hold off hiring due to economic uncertainty.

A Bank of America Institute survey found lower-income households were being impacted the most by labor market weakness, with their after-tax wages and salaries rising in August at the slowest pace since 2016.

The higher starting salary supports employees in developing long-term careers at the company, said Sheri Bronstein, BofA's chief people officer.

The increase will take effect in early October and apply to all full-time and part-time hourly U.S. positions.