wage differential

British

noun

the difference in wages between workers with different skills in the same industry or between those with comparable skills in different industries or localities

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Given the strong preference for remote work, a compensating wage differential would be expected, where companies offer a premium for in-person positions,” they wrote.

From Salon • Feb. 27, 2025

“That closing of the wage differential could persist.”

From Seattle Times • Jul. 20, 2021

This helps explain why more than $100,000 in income now separates the top-earning 10 percent of pilots from the lowest-earning decile, a wage differential matched by few occupations.

From Slate • Sep. 7, 2017

The law includes exceptions that still allow for a "wage differential" that could be justified by seniority, merit, education, training, experience and performance.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 8, 2015

Sure, Germany is more productive, but not so much more productive as to justify the wage differential with Spain or Greece.

From Economist • May 22, 2012

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023