Uruguay, Chile and Ecuador are the countries with the best minimum wages in South America

By Yalilé Loaiza

Uruguay, Chile and Ecuador are the three countries with the best basic salary in South America. At the same time, Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay are the three nations with the lowest unemployment rate at the national level, according to the most recent data for each country.

The basic salaries of Uruguay, Chile and Ecuador start at US$450, while the salaries of Venezuela, Colombia and Brazil are the lowest in the region, since they do not exceed US$232.

Uruguay has the best minimum wage in South America with US$496.01 and the government has not yet announced a new increase. However, despite the announcements from other countries, the Uruguayan basic salary exceeds the minimum wage in the region.

The basic salary in Chile stands at US$464.04. It is estimated that in January 2023, the salary will increase to US$475.64.

In the case of Ecuador, President Guillermo Lasso offered that the minimum wage would increase to US$500 at the end of his term in 2025. Therefore, this 2023, the basic salary will be US$450.

Argentines in March 2023 will have a basic salary of US$404. Currently, the salary is US$364.69. The increase is based on the Government’s decision to increase 20.04% of the salary in four months, starting this month.

Paraguay maintains a basic salary of US$357.27. Although the government of that country has not announced any increase, in July of each year the Paraguayan authorities review the annual Consumer Price Index and establish a new minimum wage.

In contrast, in Bolivia the current mandatory salary is US$325.91 and the government has not announced any increase.

Peru, which is currently facing a political crisis after the removal of Pedro Castillo, has a minimum wage of US$266.68 and has not yet established any increase.

In the case of Brazil, the basic salary is US$231.27 and it is expected that in 2023 it will reach US$248.06.

Colombians are still debating the increase in the basic salary that could go from US$206.97 to US$248.37 in 2023.

The lowest minimum wage in South America is that of Venezuela with US$9.57.

UNEMPLOYMENT

According to data from the statistics institutes of each country and from the Expansión de España macro data portal, in terms of employment, the unemployment rates in Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay are between 4.1% and 6.3%. The three worst unemployment rates in the region are those of Brazil, Colombia and Argentina, with percentages between 13.2% and 8.5%.

In Ecuador, unemployment reaches 4.1 percent. With a minimal difference, Bolivia follows with 4.2% of unemployed until October 2022. In the case of Paraguay, the rate reaches 6.3%.

Venezuela, on the other hand, appears with 6.4% unemployment. The unemployment rate in Peru reaches 6.8%, followed by that of Chile, which reaches 8%.

The fourth worst unemployment rate in South America corresponds to Uruguay with 8.3%.

In the case of Argentina, unemployment reaches 8.5%, while in Colombia the percentage reaches 11%. But the worst unemployment rate is in Brazil, with 13.2%.

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the International Labor Organization (ILO), in their most recent joint report, point out that the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean “face a very complex macroeconomic, social and environmental context, which will affect the dynamics of the labor markets”. This scenario occurs despite the recovery of some labor markets in the first half of this year. However, it is predicted that there will be a “slowdown in growth (which) will slow down the region’s ability to generate quality jobs.”

With information from Infobae