Peru Minimum Wage Rises 8.8% to About US$363 a Month on 1 October, First of Two Steps

ECONOMY · PERU

The Peru minimum wage rises from S/1,130 (about US$333) to S/1,230 (about US$363) a month on 1 October 2026. President Keiko Fujimori signed Supreme Decree 015-2026-TR on 28 September, and the official gazette El Peruano published it that night.

It is the first rise since January 2025 and the first of two steps toward S/1,300 (about US$383). Conversions use S/3.393 per US dollar, the rate of 29 September 2026.

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What the decree says

Article 1 raises the wage by S/170 (about US$50) in two steps, according to the text quoted by El Peruano. The first S/100 (about US$29) applies from 1 October; the remaining S/70 (about US$21) requires another decree during the first half of 2027.

The S/100 step is an 8.8% increase. Since May 2016, when the wage stood at S/850 (about US$251), the floor has risen about 45%, according to central bank data.

Earlier rises came in April 2018, to S/930 (about US$274), and May 2022, to S/1,025 (about US$302). Each was set by a separate supreme decree from the labour ministry.

How the government reached the figure

Fujimori first announced the rise in her address to the nation on 28 July. Instead of decreeing it at once, the labour ministry took it to the National Labour Council, where unions, employers and the state meet.

The council had not met in this tripartite format for eight years, América TV reported. Fujimori said the S/1,300 target was approved unanimously, although the sides disagreed on timing.

“Governing is practising social dialogue, but also taking decisions,” Sheput said at the signing, according to the presidency. He also said the rise rests on economic studies and would not be inflationary, RPP reported.

Why now, and the risk for small firms

Economy Minister Elmer Cuba said formal hiring is strong and hiring expectations are at record highs in a central bank survey. He put inflation at around 4% after an oil price shock, and said the rise protects wages.

The cost falls mainly on micro firms. Cuba said about 144,000 firms with 2 to 10 staff employ some 300,000 minimum-wage workers, RPP and América TV reported.

Those firms receive a one-off bonus of S/100 (about US$29) per worker at the end of October, the presidency said. It is a stabiliser, but only for the first month of the higher bill.

The risk is informality. Cuba said in August that informality among micro firms reaches about 90%, and business groups warned of risks from a higher wage, El Comercio reported.

Business chambers, including the Lima Chamber of Commerce and ComexPerú, told Gestón that El Niño should weigh on the second step. The weather event has already slowed output, as Peru June GDP Grows 1.75% as Coastal El Niño Hits Key Sectors showed.

What Is Not Yet Known

The date of the S/70 (about US$21) second step is open. Sheput said the government is weighing whether to apply it during or after El Niño; ministers have pointed to April or May.

No independent estimate of the effect on jobs has been published for this round. Whether the Peru minimum wage rise feeds into prices will show in inflation data from October onward.

Background: Peru’s Economy: Mining, the Sol, Political Noise and the State of Play.

Sources: El Peruano, Decree 015-2026-TR, 28 September 2026; El Peruano, linked labour payments; Presidency of Peru, 28 September 2026; América TV; RPP; Gestión, 23 September 2026; El Comercio; labour ministry decrees 004-2018-TR, 003-2022-TR and 006-2024-TR; Central Reserve Bank of Peru, minimum wage series.