The Economic Pain of Nicaragua in Figures
The minimum monthly salary for public employees is 7,134 cordobas [US $197], which covers barely 34% of the cost of a family’s basic needs.
HAVANA TIMES – The situation for Nicaraguan families who rely on formal employment has grown ever more critical. Although the average national monthly salary is $13,170 cordobas [US $364], for many workers this figure is far from what’s needed to cover the cost of their family’s basic needs – currently estimated at 21,019 cordobas [US $581] according to official data.
Low wage workers in a losing race against the cost of living
The minimum wage for a state employee is a bare 7,134 cordobas [US $197] a month, representing only 34% of what’s needed to cover a family’s basic necessities. In simple terms, with this income a worker can barely guarantee one-third of the food and basic products his household needs.
The situation is similar for employees of the manufacturing sector, whose minimum salary is the equivalent of US $212.50. Although it’s a little higher than the salary of the public sector, that income only covers 37% of estimated monthly needs. In other words, over half of the families’ needs are left unsatisfied.
The “basic needs” as defined here include, food, water, electricity, clothing, and shoes. One advantage of many Nicaraguans is that they live in their own or family homes, however modest, and only a minority pay rent.
The economic realities are even harsher for workers in the small cottage industries or tourist sector, where the minimum monthly wage is 6,027 cordobas [US $166.50], a sum that barely covers 29% of the family needs.
Many families live with hunger
These starvation salaries have a direct impact on Nicaraguans’ diets. According to the latest CID Gallup poll, 53% of Nicaraguans only eat one meal a day, an alarming statistic that reflects the poverty in thousands of homes.
In addition, the Ortega government’s own numbers confirm the unsustainable reality the country faces. The pensions of the Nicaraguan Social Security Institute average 6,213 cordobas [US $171.63], an amount that leaves elder retired Nicaraguans in an extremely vulnerable situation.
Salaries in key economic sectors also fail to provide a decent living
The minimum wage in Nicaragua’s free trade zones is the equivalent of US $242, [8,746 cordobas] and in the industrial sector, it’s set at just over US $212 [7,692 cordobas]. Neither of these incomes is enough to cover a family’s basic needs, much less allow them to improve their quality of life.
The country faces a crisis with these starvation wages. In a context of continuing inflation of the basic products, millions of Nicaraguans find themselves trapped in a situation that not only threatens their welfare, but also their most fundamental right to a decent life. Likewise, it has fueled the desire to migrate to other countries.