Living Wages Worldwide: February Update

Abstract

In October 2013, WageIndicator developed a plan to collect data about the prices of food items. Given the huge numbers of web visitors, it seemed easy to post a teaser on all web pages asking web visitors for the actual price of a single food item. Once they had entered a price, they were asked to key in the prices of other items in the Cost-of-Living survey. Items asked about the prices of food, housing, drinking water, transport, and clothing and footwear. The methodology of the Living Wage data collection and calculation has been described in Guzi and Kahanec (2014, 2017, 2019) and Guzi et al. (2016, 2022). The available estimates allow users and stakeholders to share and compare Living Wages across countries and regions based on a harmonised methodology. This methodology facilitates quarterly updating of the database (see chapter 3.1. for further details of the history of the data collection).

Since 2013, the data collection has advanced successfully, evoking the interest of stakeholders in the field of Living Wages. Demands for detailed information about Living Wages beyond country-level arose, challenging the business model underlying the Living Wage data collection. The data collection started with funding from development aid projects and did not include delivery of data to multinational enterprises. Hence, the cost of collecting data was estimated and prices had to be set. The first multinational client could be welcomed in 2018. Since then, WageIndicator has sold its regional Living Wages to a growing number of clients, both multinational enterprises, with locations in many countries and NGOs like FairWear Foundation and MSF (Médecins Sans
Frontières).

Compared to the 2022 WageIndicator Living Wages update (Guzi et al, 2022), two changes in this report are relevant:

• Since July 2022 WageIndicator offers next to the Standard and Typical Family Living Wage a Living Income for Typical families.
More on this in Chapter 2.11 and 2.12

• From the January 2023 release the Individual Living Wage will not be presented any- more. The data collection will not change. More on this in Chapter 4.6.1.