Australia ranked #1 for purchasing power

Australia officially has the highest minimum wage according to the latest OECD real minimum wage rankings, the first time in over a decade. The OECD data compares countries’ minimum wages by converting them into a common currency.

This ranking is a result of a number of increases in the minimum wage over the past few years which were well above the inflation level and also does not include this year’s wage increase of 3%, which is more than double the rate of inflation. Australia has not been in the number one spot since the early 2000s.

According to Innes Willox, Australian Industry Group Chief executive,

“A person receiving a minimum wage in Australia could afford to purchase more with that wage than minimum wage employees anywhere else in the world”.

However, there is note of caution for the Fair Work Commission to ensure that they are sensitive to the impact of the high minimum wage on people out of work or employees seeking more hours.

This is a summary of the article Australian has world’s highest minimum wage by David Marin-Guzman in The Australian Financial Review article | 13-14 July 2019.