Wage

An amount of money paid each hour to compensate an employee for the amount of time he/she spends working. Wages are paid for both skilled and unskilled labor. For example, one may pay an employee $8 per hour for working at a fast food restaurant or $45 per hour for highly trained work at a car factory. What distinguishes wages from salaries is the fact that wages are only paid for the hours worked; an employee is paid more if he works for more hours. Salaries, on the other hand, are the same whether one works five hours or 50. See also: Overtime, Minimum Wage.

wage

the money payment made to a worker, usually on a weekly basis, for the use of his or her labour. A worker's basic wage will depend on the hourly WAGE RATE and the number of hours worked. The latter is usually related to the number of hours specified as constituting the ‘basic'working week, but in some cases workers may be given a GUARANTEED BASIC WAGE to protect them against loss of earnings due to short-time working, and in other cases workers may be able to add to their basic wage by OVERTIME earnings. In addition to PAYMENT BY TIME, workers may be paid in proportion to their output under a PAYMENT BY RESULTS scheme. See PAY, MEASURED DAY WORK.

wage

the PAY made to an employee for the use of his or her LABOUR as a FACTOR OF PRODUCTION. Wages are usually paid on a weekly basis, and they depend on the hourly WAGE RATE and the number of hours that constitute the basic working week. In addition, employees can add to their basic wage by working OVERTIME.

As an alternative to workers being paid on the basis of hours worked (a ‘payment by time’ system), employees may be paid in proportion to their output (a ‘payment by results’ system).

In aggregate terms, wages are a source of income and are included as a part of NATIONAL INCOME. See SALARY, NATIONAL INCOME ACCOUNTS.

Collins Dictionary of Economics, 4th ed. © C. Pass, B. Lowes, L. Davies 2005

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References in periodicals archive

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'It's puzzling that in high-income economies we see slow wage growth alongside a recovery in GDP growth and falling unemployment.

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But wage inequality between men increased in the year to June, with their median hourly wage falling to 82.2 per cent of their average wage.

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For the past four years, the minimum wage has been decided following tripartite negotiations involving members from the government, unions and employers.

PM muses on minimum wage growth

Voters and liberal politicians in many states have made minimum wage increases a priority in recent years, a response in part to growing income inequality and stagnant wages across much of the income spectrum.

Why are minimum wage policies in the U.S. so stingy?

In Arab localities, 41% of employees earned less than the minimum wage in 2015, compared to 34% of employees in development towns and 24% in affluent localities.

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The minimum wage is defined by the ILO as 'the minimum amount of remuneration that an employer is required to pay wage earners for work performed during a given period, which cannot be reduced by collective agreement or an individual contract' (ILO definition).

THE EROSION OF MINIMUM WAGE POLICY IN AUSTRALIA AND LABOUR'S SHRINKING SHARE OF TOTAL INCOME