living wage

noun

1. a wage on which it is possible for a wage earner or an individual and their family to live at least according to minimum customary standards.

living wage

noun

1. a wage adequate to permit a wage earner to live and support a family in reasonable comfort

Word History and Origins

Origin of living wage¹

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

Reeves also announced increases in the minimum and living wage, but Lyons said: "Costs are passed onto others."

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However, the 20-year-old added: "It's good that it is going up slightly, but it should go up more. I don't think it is a living wage compared to the cost of living - it doesn't match."

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Some in the business community will interpret this as possibly heralding another higher-than-inflation rise in the national living wage, which also tends to push up other salaries in a firm's wage structure.

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Critics of capitalism call the market economy unfair, arguing that big corporations don’t pay low-income employees a living wage.

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The national living wage is the minimum businesses must legally pay employees and is currently set by the government at £12.21.

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Related Words

• minimum wage