# 2014 Minimum Wage - Mexico



## Longford (May 25, 2012)

Rolly Brook confirms what's already been published by the Federal Government but which, because the notifications are published in Spanish, many expats and persons wanting to live in Mexico overlook:



> The basic minimum wage for 2014 will be $67.29 pesos. ...This is the basis for calculating many things, such as INM charges, traffic fines, and other government fees.


You can learn more about living in Mexico and the various requirements, at Rolly's website: My Life in Mexico

The minimum wage minimums are tiered with locations such as Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara having higher requirements. The minimum wage specified for Mexico City is what's used as a multiplier when determining INM fees, traffic fines, various government charges, etc.


----------



## diablita (May 7, 2010)

You might add that this is per day not per hour.


----------



## Hollypop1986 (Jul 27, 2013)

Speaking of minimum wage, is it also what the average Mexican earns? For example, here in Texas minimum wage is somewhere around $7.15 an hour, but the average working american makes about $10-$12 an hour with minimal experince. My husband will be working when we get there, so I am curious about what I can expect that he will be making...


----------



## Hollypop1986 (Jul 27, 2013)

Great link btw, thanks for posting that. I will be combing through that info over the next few weeks for sure!


----------



## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Hollypop1986 said:


> Speaking of minimum wage, is it also what the average Mexican earns? For example, here in Texas minimum wage is somewhere around $7.15 an hour, but the average working american makes about $10-$12 an hour with minimal experince. My husband will be working when we get there, so I am curious about what I can expect that he will be making...


No, it is not a typical wage. Even minimal skill jobs tend to pay a few hundred pesos/day. 

However, there are many people that get by on income equivalent to the minimum or less. They are people without jobs that pay a wage, but rather do piece work, washing cars, or windshields in intersections, or selling things on the street. Then there are many people in rural areas that live on a minimal subsistence income. Overall, about 45% of the population is below the poverty line.

From Wikipedia (numbers a few years old now);
12.3 percent of the Mexican labor force earns the daily minimum wage or mx$ 1,343.28 per month (approx. US$111.94 November 2010 exchange rates). 20.5 of the labor force earns twice the minimum wage and 21.4 percent earns up to three times the daily minimum wage while 18.6 earn no more than five daily minimum wages.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_Mexico


----------



## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

In Tepoztlan, which apparently is pricier than more remote areas, the standard rate for an unskilled day labourer (_"peón"_) is MN$200 per day (about US$15.50). Last I heard, my sister-in-law's daily wage working at a little retail pharmacy was MN$100 per day. It seems to me that people are only able to survive because families pull together and help each other out. Of course far too many families have to rely on those who have made the treacherous trip NOB and send money home.


----------



## emilybcruz (Oct 29, 2013)

My husband has a job requiring minimal skills and no education. He works in a factory on the line and is paid 600 pesos a week. That is after recently getting a promotion. For the first 3 years he earned 550 a week, which is typical for a factory worker here. 

There are over 300 maquilas in Juarez so a huge percentage of the city works in them. There are some benefits, such as 180 pesos a week on a card that can be used to purchase groceries, a 700 peso bonus every quarter if you do not miss a day of work and a 2,500 peso Christmas bonus. They are also fed 2 meals a day and transportation is provided at no cost to them.

Of course none of that really makes up for the fact that the pay is so low. People do make it work in very creative ways. It's not uncommon for a couple to both work at the same factory. One parent will work 1st shift, the other works 2nd shift, and they take the kids with them on the bus and just trade them off. It's quite sad. Most of the workers in these factories live in colonias on the outskirts of town, such as Anapra and may be on the bus over an hour to get to work each day.


----------



## Hollypop1986 (Jul 27, 2013)

What do you do to make up for the low wage? I currently work from home doing admin for a small makeup artistry business, as well as freelance makeup and hair in the weekend. Obviously I will have to connect with different groups in order to find weddings, quince s, etc., but the admin work I will continue, since its all online anyway. She pays me $100 a week, which doesn't go far here, but it's minimal part time work. However in Mexico, $400 a month at the current exchange rate is about $5200 pesos, then whatever my husband earns in addition to that. What does a couple with two children need to earn In order to be okay? Obviously I'm not going for comfort here, just okay. I know this will be different depending on where we end up living, but just to have an idea.


----------



## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Hollypop1986 said:


> What do you do to make up for the low wage? I currently work from home doing admin for a small makeup artistry business, as well as freelance makeup and hair in the weekend. Obviously I will have to connect with different groups in order to find weddings, quince s, etc., but the admin work I will continue, since its all online anyway. She pays me $100 a week, which doesn't go far here, but it's minimal part time work. However in Mexico, $400 a month at the current exchange rate is about $5200 pesos, then whatever my husband earns in addition to that. What does a couple with two children need to earn In order to be okay? Obviously I'm not going for comfort here, just okay. I know this will be different depending on where we end up living, but just to have an idea.


Mexicans often live on very little money. Mortgages are not common, so often people live in houses that belong to a family member and that are frequently shared by many family members.

I have a friend, a single mother with a 12 or 13 year old son*. The two of them live in a house owned by her aunt. The aunt lives in California. The mother and son seem to do okay on 800 pesos a week, and cannot make it on 600 pesos a week. I know this because she does housekeeping. For awhile she only had three days a week of work. She was hurting then, no lights, no gas for cooking, etc. With four days she seems able to get by.

*Adtually, the kid is her nephew, but she is raising him. Her sister is a flake.


----------



## emilybcruz (Oct 29, 2013)

I think it's very difficult to give an exact amount for a family to get by. Not only is every family different, but the cost of living varies drastically from city to city.


----------



## emilybcruz (Oct 29, 2013)

And to answer your question Holly, we make up for the low wages by living on the border. I work in the US. If I didn't, there's no way we could continue to keep up with our US financial commitments, much less the cost of living. My husband's monthly pay doesn't even cover our rent.


----------

