Labouring on a Global Wage Reality Check
Are your salaries increasing?
Average salary and working hours even vary within OECD countries.
💰What countries offer the highest salaries and lowest working hours?
How have real wages and nominal wages evolved in major economies?
Labour markets have been grabbing headlines lately. The US job market keeps pulling off surprise comebacks, leaving the Fed sweating over rate cuts. Meanwhile, the UK’s job scene has been a pressure cooker of its own. But put aside the unemployment rates and macro mumbo jumbo for now. Are people actually earning more, or is inflation nibbling away at those paychecks like a relentless mouse?
🌍 Global Snapshot
Think Americans top the global salary charts? Think again. Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Iceland take the crown for fattest paychecks, and they do it in fewer hours—around 28–30 hours a week compared to America’s 34. Meanwhile, spare a thought for Mexican workers, who slog 41 hours a week for just $350—28% of what an average American makes. Ouch.
Even within the OECD, average weekly wages range from a modest $300 to a generous $1,300, while working hours swing from a leisurely 26 to a gruelling 41 hours per week. Unsurprisingly, Americans put in more hours than most, while their European counterparts are happily skewing the average with their shorter workweeks and summer breaks.
But let’s bring it closer to home—what do wage trends look like on your side of the pond?
💰Have your salaries actually increased in the past few years? Let’s take a look at the U.S., UK and European markets more closely.
Want more juicy details? Read on below! ⬇️
