It provides detailed look at wage trends across the globe highlighting changes in wage inequality and real wage growth.
Key Findings
- Trends in wage growth
- Global: After falling in 2022, global real wage growth recovered in 2023.
- Regional: Average wages are increasing faster in Asia and the Pacific, Central and Western Asia, and Eastern Europe compared to the rest of the world.
- Around 9.5% of the Indian workers are low paid wage workers
- Trends in labour income inequality
- Wage inequality: Overall it has witnessed a declining trend globally.
- However, it is highest in low-income countries and lowest in high-income countries.
- Informal Economy: Women and workers are overrepresented at the low end of the wage distribution.
- Moreover, informal employment has increased in absolute terms due to insufficient formal job creation
- Wage inequality: Overall it has witnessed a declining trend globally.
- Labour Productivity (1999-2024): It has increased more rapidly in high-income countries than real wages.
Way forward
- Increased research: Robust data and statistics should be used for measuring and estimating change in inequality.
- National strategies to reduce wage inequality: Wages should be set with consideration of economic factors as well as needs of workers and their families and should promote gender equality, equity and non-discrimination
- Redistribution of Income through system of taxes and social transfers: It should be followed with policies promoting productivity, decent work and the formalization of the informal economy
Do you Know?The Palma ratio is a measurement of inequality calculated by dividing the total hourly wages of the top 10% of wage distribution by total hourly wages of the bottom 40% of wage distribution. |
