Can a Filipino employee live off the minimum wage? A study from Picodi Philippines analyzed how the minimum wage changed in 67 countries, how prices of basic groceries increased, and how the cost of a “survival basket” compared to the minimum wage.
In this study, the net wages were used, which employees take home. It showed that the minimum wage has changed in most countries compared to January 2023, according to its ranking of 58 out of 67 countries.
Picodi Philippines noted that the lowest rises were given to workers in France (3.4%), Germany (2.8%), and Thailand (2.5%), while in countries, such as Spain, Malaysia, or Vietnam, governments have frozen the minimum wage or have not yet decided on the increase.
The countries with the highest increase in the minimum wage were Argentina and Tukey, caused by the huge inflation. Meanwhile, the Philippines ranked 33rd with the minimum net wage of ₱8,725, which increased to 8.2% than last year (₱8,066 net).
Survival basket: by how much have basic food products become more expensive?
Picodi Philippines created a basic grocery basket consisting of eight groups of products: bread, milk, eggs, rice, cheese, meat, fruits, and vegetables.
This list of products is more than modest. Nevertheless, these in the given quantities can meet the minimum nutrient requirements of an average adult for a month.
- Milk (10 litres) – ₱961
- Bread (10 loaves, 500 g each) – ₱679
- Rice (1.5 kg) – ₱78
- Eggs (20 pcs.) – ₱189
- Cheese (1 kg) – ₱395
- Poultry and beef (6 kg) – ₱1,843
- Fruits (6 kg) – ₱774
- Vegetables (8 kg) – ₱857
The total cost of the “survival basket” at the beginning of 2024 is ₱5,776 (8.90% more than last year). This amount represents 66.2% of the net minimum wage, while at the beginning of last year, it was 65.8% of the minimum wage. It means that the increase in the minimum salary of Filipinos failed to keep up with the rise of food prices.
In which country will you be able to survive on minimum wage?
This study also compared the cost of the basic grocery basket in all the studied countries and juxtaposed it with the minimum wage in each country. The most comfortable ratio of the grocery basket to the minimum wage can be found in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and New Zealand. In these countries, workers spend less than ⅒ of the local minimum wage on basic groceries.
The Philippines ranked 64th on the list of 67 countries, as the survival basket accounts for 66.2% of its minimum wage. Following the Philippines were Armenia (78.7%), Uzbekistan (96.1%), and Nigeria (116.5%).
There are also countries where even such a modest set of products consumes more than half of the minimum wage. These include Kazakhstan (54%), India (58.5%), Vietnam (65.6%), and Armenia (74.6%). In Nigeria, the minimum wage is insufficient to cover even such a basic set of groceries.
The study compared the monthly minimum wages for full-time work effective January 2024 with the wages from the beginning of 2023. For countries where the minimum wage varies from region to region, such as the USA, Canada, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, Picodi Philippines calculated and used the arithmetic mean of all regions.
You can view the full study here.
