

Singapore offers different minimum wages depending on sector, applicable only for citizens and permanent residents. New York, Singapore and Tel Aviv sit at the top three spots.īy comparison, New York has a minimum wage of $15 per hour, and Los Angeles has $16.78 per hour Tel Aviv ranges from $8.27 to $8.45 per hour depending on the total hours worked. In 2022, it tied with Los Angeles for fourth place on the Worldwide Cost of Living Index, released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Pedestrians along a road in Hong Kong on April 24, 2023. The minimum wage, first established in 2011, is supposed to be reviewed every two years - but it was frozen at the previous rate in 2021 due to the city’s Covid-stricken economy, with authorities at the time arguing that a wage increase would put “additional pressure on enterprises” and risk slashing low-wage jobs.īut Wong said this new increase will make little difference in Hong Kong, consistently ranked one of the world’s most expensive cities. The new minimum wage now stands at 40 Hong Kong dollars ($5.1) per hour, up from the previous 37.5 Hong Kong dollars ($4.78) per hour. “It cannot cover basic needs in Hong Kong.”

“We think this is unacceptable,” said Wong Shek-hung, director of the Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan program at the charitable organization Oxfam. So when the Hong Kong government raised the minimum wage by a measly 32 cents on Monday, activists and community workers were scathing in their response. It’s one of the world’s priciest cities, with the least affordable housing market on the planet and parking spaces that can go for nearly a million dollars each.
