Wednesday, February 19, 2014

How does the US minimum wage compare to other developed nations?/ The Guardian

The UK Guardian published the following chart in October 2012.  PPP stands for purchasing power parity, or how much the minimum wage is able to buy in its country.  In terms of PPP, we are still beaten by every nation with a higher minimum wage, except Japan.  So we cannot say the US' low minimum wage is offset by cheaper goods, because it isn't.

The Ozzie minimum wage, in pounds sterling, was worth more than twice the US minimum wage. Luxembourg has almost double the US rate. Only Greece, Spain and Portugal (in this chart) had lower minimum wages than the USA.

Minimum wage table

Here is wikipedia's chart on minimum wages throughout the world.

UPDATE: GAP announced it is raising its corporate minimum wage in the US:  Gap Chief Executive Glenn Murphy announced on Thursday that the company will sets its minimum hourly rate for U.S. employees at $9 this year and $10 in 2015.

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