National Minimum Wage

Appendix 3: Minimum Wage Systems in Other Countries
Figure A3.2: Annualised Growth in Adult Minimum Wages, by Country, 1999-2011
Annualised growth (per cent)
14 14
12 12
10 10
8 8
6 6
4 4
2 2
0 0
Japan
Belgium
Spain
Netherlands
US
Canada
France
Portugal
Australia
Ireland
UK
Greece
New Zealand
Ireland
Japan
France
Netherlands
UK
Belgium
Spain
Australia
Greece
New Zealand
Portugal
Canada
US
Spain
Belgium
Canada
Australia
US
Portugal
Netherlands
Ireland
UK
France
Japan
New Zealand
Greece
UK
Australia
Belgium
Portugal
France
Spain
Greece
New Zealand
Netherlands
Ireland
Canada
US
Japan
1999-2011 2007-2011 1999-2011 2007-2011
National currency PPP terms
Source: British Embassies and High Commissions. LPC calculations of country minimum wage rates in pounds sterling using PPPs. PPPs derived
from: CPLs, OECD Main Economic Indicators, November 1999, September 2007 and September 2011; and exchange rates, Bank of England
monthly average spot exchange rate, November 1999, September 2007 and September 2011.
Note: Figures for Ireland are from 2000 when its minimum wage was introduced.
11 Turning to the value of each country’s minimum wage in 1999 and 2010 relative to full-time
median earnings and averaged over the year to allow for timing and number of upratings,
Figure A3.3 ranks the countries according to the change in the bite of their respective
minimum wage rates. It shows that the growth in the bite of the UK’s minimum wage was
higher than in most other countries, but below that in France, Japan, Portugal and New
Zealand. However, in both 1999 and 2010 the level of the UK bite was lower than in the
majority of the other countries. This was also the case across the years not shown.
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