Okuzeka
Economics vocabulary · Jobs and Unemployment

Wage

Meaning in economics, with examples

/weɪdʒ/nounCore term

In economics, wage means: The money a worker is paid for their work, especially when it is calculated by the hour, day or week.

In Turkish: ücret, maaş

How it is used

In economics, wages is the general word for the price of labour: wage growth, real wages, wage rises. Wages rise, stagnate or lag behind inflation; unions negotiate them and employers set or raise them.

Example sentences

  1. Real wages fell last year because prices rose faster than pay.

  2. The union is asking for a 15% wage increase for factory workers.

Common collocations

  • wage growth
  • real wages
  • wage increase
  • average wage
  • wage gap
  • minimum wageThe lowest hourly, daily or monthly pay that employers are legally allowed to pay workers, set by the government or by law.
  • labour marketThe market in which workers offer their time and skills and employers hire them, setting the level of employment and wages.
  • productivityHow much output is produced from a given amount of input, most often measured as output per worker or per hour worked.
  • purchasing powerThe amount of goods and services that a sum of money or an income can buy; it falls when prices rise faster than incomes.

More terms: Jobs and Unemployment

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not financial advice.