PH’s P15,200 average salary among lowest in 110 countries – survey

By: Gabriel Pabico Lalu, INQINQUIRER.net, 25 Aug 2020

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ average salary of P15,200 was ranked as among the lowest in 110 countries surveyed by think-tank Picordi.com.

Of the 110 countries reviewed, Picodi.com said the Philippines’ average salary of P15,200 is 95th – far-off Switzerland’s P296,200 (1st), Luxembourg’s P198,500 (2nd), and United States’ P174,000 (3rd), as well as Singapore’s P168,900 (5th) at P168,900, and Australia’s P164,800 (6th).

The Philippines’ average salary of P15,200 is likewise lower than its other neighbors in Southeast Asia: Malaysia P41,300 (49th), Thailand P30,700 (60th), and Vietnam P20,000 (80th). Although it was somewhat higher than Indonesia’s P15,100 (96th), Bangladesh’s P15,100 (97th), and Georgia’s P14,100 (100th).

Egypt’s average salary is at P10,800 (104th), Nigeria at P9,100 (108th), and Cuba at P1,800 (110th).

The survey, which was conducted for August, processed data coming from Numbeo, a website that surveys hundreds of thousands of citizens about their salaries after taxes, and arranged the rank using the value of the Philippine peso based on the prevailing exchange rate in Google Finance for this month.

“The average wages after taxes come from the website numbeo.com. Local currencies were converted at the average Google Finance rate for August 2020,” Picodi.com explained.

It likewise pointed out that, “When it comes to Asian countries, the Philippines ended up in the second part of the ranking (12th out of 16). It was outrun by countries such as Thailand (₱30,600), India (₱21,600), or Vietnam (₱20,000).”

“Following was Indonesia (₱15,100), Sri Lanka (₱12,800), Cambodia (₱10,500), and Pakistan (₱10,300). The ultimate leaders are Singapore, Australia, and Hong Kong — the only countries with average wages higher than ₱140,000,” it added.

The Philippines — also a developing country — has long suffered from low wages prompting labor groups to seek wage increases and regularization for job security. However, the current pandemic has worsened existing conditions, as some companies were left with no choice but to terminate employees to ensure continuous operations.

The latest surveys from the Social Weather Stations said that the country’s unemployment rate increased to 45.5 percent in July as people were left out of jobs while lockdowns were placed to avoid coronavirus transmissions.

The Philippine economy, on the other hand, contracted as the gross domestic product decreased 16.5 percent for the second quarter of 2020.