A wage increase goes into effect today for American workers who get paid the hourly minimum.

Up 70 cents to $6.55, the two percent of Americans who earn minimum wage will find that the increase hasn’t moved them too far up in the ranks of the world’s working poor.

While they wouldn’t likely want to trade places with someone in Burundi, where the minimum wage is 160 Burundian francs (average annual income on minimum wage: $111 USD), or Georgia, where the minimum wage will, if you save it all, add up to $287 USD a year), American wage laborers still fall far short (to the tune of about $6,000) of other developed countries.

In Australia, a minimum wage worker can earn around $19,053 a year, in Luxembourg around $19,856, and in the Netherlands just around $18,267.

But even in these countries, when you factor in the cost of living there’s not a whole lot left over for travel or any other “disposable” items or experiences.

What do you think about the US minimum wage? Do you support the fair or living wage movements? Share your thoughts below!

Photo: ScooterFlix

Julie Schwietert

One of Matador's most prolific contributors, Julie Schwietert Collazo is a writer, editor, researcher, and translator who lives in New York and Mexico City.