nominal wages

American  

plural noun

Economics.

1. wages measured in terms of money and not by their ability to command goods and services.

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nominal wages British  

plural noun

1. another name for money wages

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Etymology

Origin of nominal wages

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

Modest inflation tends to reduce employers’ need to cut workers’ nominal wages during economic downturns.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

That means New Yorkers are pushed into higher income brackets as their nominal wages climb over time.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 27, 2025

The budget is expected to forecast real wages growth of 0.75% over the year to June 2024, up by half a percentage point from October, with inflation seen slightly lower and nominal wages growing faster.

From Reuters • May 5, 2023

The railways have said they are willing to accept the board’s recommendations, which included increasing nominal wages by 22 percent over five years and largely maintaining the status quo for health insurance benefits.

From New York Times • Sep. 14, 2022

Employees are so apt to judge themselves well or ill treated by a comparison of nominal wages without any reference to conditions of industry.

From The Settlement of Wage Disputes by Feis, Herbert