A wage is payment made by an

employer Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...

to an

employee Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any other ...

for

work Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** Manual labour, physical work done by humans ** House work, housework, or homemaking ** Working animal, an animal tr ...

done in a specific period of time. Some examples of wage payments include compensatory payments such as ''

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...

'', ''

prevailing wage In United States government contracting, a prevailing wage is defined as the hourly wage, usual benefits and overtime, paid to the majority of workers, laborers, and mechanics within a particular area. This is usually the union wage. Prevailing ...

'', and ''yearly bonuses,'' and

remunerative Remuneration is the pay or other financial compensation provided in exchange for an employee's ''services performed'' (not to be confused with giving (away), or donating, or the act of providing to). A number of complementary benefits in addition ...

payments such as ''prizes'' and ''tip payouts.'' Wages are part of the expenses that are involved in running a business. It is an obligation to the employee regardless of the profitability of the company. Payment by wage contrasts with salaried work, in which the employer pays an arranged amount at steady intervals (such as a week or month) regardless of hours worked, with commission which conditions pay on individual performance, and with compensation based on the performance of the company as a whole. Waged employees may also receive tips or

gratuity A gratuity (often called a tip) is a sum of money customarily given by a customer to certain service sector workers such as hospitality for the service they have performed, in addition to the basic price of the service. Tips and their amount ...

paid directly by clients and

employee benefits Employee benefits and (especially in British English) benefits in kind (also called fringe benefits, perquisites, or perks) include various types of non-wage compensation provided to employees in addition to their normal wages or salaries. Inst ...

which are non-monetary forms of compensation. Since

wage labour Wage labour (also wage labor in American English), usually referred to as paid work, paid employment, or paid labour, refers to the socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer in which the worker sells their labour power under ...

is the predominant form of work, the term "wage" sometimes refers to all forms (or all monetary forms) of employee compensation.

Origins and necessary components

Wage labour Wage labour (also wage labor in American English), usually referred to as paid work, paid employment, or paid labour, refers to the socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer in which the worker sells their labour power under ...

involves the exchange of money for time spent at work. As Moses I. Finley lays out the issue in ''

The Ancient Economy ''The Ancient Economy'' is a book about the economic system of classical antiquity written by the classicist Moses I. Finley. It was originally published in 1973. Finley interprets the economy from 1000 BC to 500 AD sociologically, instead of usi ...

'': :The very idea of wage-labour requires two difficult conceptual steps. First it requires the abstraction of a man's labour from both his person and the product of his work. When one purchases an object from an independent craftsman ... one has not bought his labour but the object, which he had produced in his own time and under his own conditions of work. But when one hires labour, one purchases an abstraction, labour-power, which the purchaser then uses at a time and under conditions which he, the purchaser, not the "owner" of the labour-power, determines (and for which he normally pays after he has consumed it). Second, the wage labour system requires the establishment of a method of measuring the labour one has purchased, for purposes of payment, commonly by introducing a second abstraction, namely labour-time. The wage is the monetary measure corresponding to the standard units of working time (or to a standard amount of accomplished work, defined as a

piece rate Piece work (or piecework) is any type of employment in which a worker is paid a fixed piece rate for each unit produced or action performed, regardless of time. Context When paying a worker, employers can use various methods and combinations of ...

). The earliest such unit of time, still frequently used, is the day of work. The invention of clocks coincided with the elaborating of subdivisions of time for work, of which the hour became the most common, underlying the concept of an hourly wage. Wages were paid in the Middle Kingdom of Egypt, Middle Kingdom of ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and ancient Rome. Following the unification of the List of cities of the ancient Near East, city-states in Assyria and Sumer by Sargon of Akkad into a Akkadian Empire, single empire ruled from his Akkad (city), home city circa 2334 BC, Ancient Mesopotamian units of measurement, common Mesopotamian standards for length, area, volume, weight, and time used by artisan guilds were promulgated by Naram-Sin of Akkad (c. 2254–2218 BC), Sargon's grandson, including shekels. Code of Hammurabi#Laws, ''Codex Hammurabi'' Law 234 (c. 1755–1750 BC) stipulated a 2-shekel

for each 60-Ancient Mesopotamian units of measurement#Capacity or volume, gur (300-bushel) Merchant vessel, vessel constructed in an employment contract between a Shipbuilding, shipbuilder and a ship-owner. Law 275 stipulated a ferry Price, rate of 3-gerah per day on a charterparty between a Chartering (shipping), ship charterer and a Sea captain, shipmaster. Law 276 stipulated a 2-gerah per day freight rate on a Affreightment, contract of affreightment between a charterer and shipmaster, while Law 277 stipulated a -shekel per day freight rate for a 60-gur vessel.

Determinants of wage rates

Depending on the structure and traditions of different economies around the world, wage rates will be influenced by market forces (supply and demand), labour organisation, legislation, and tradition. Market forces are perhaps more dominant in the United States, while tradition, social structure and seniority, perhaps play a greater role in Japan.

Wage differences

Even in countries where market forces primarily set wage rates, studies show that there are still differences in remuneration for work based on sex and race. For example, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2007 women of all races made approximately 80% of the median wage of their male counterparts. This is likely due to the supply and demand for women in the market because of family obligations. Similarly, white men made about 84% the wage of Asian men, and black men 64%. These are overall averages and are not adjusted for the type, amount, and quality of work done.

Wages in the United States

Seventy-five million workers earned hourly wages in the United States in 2012, making up 59% of employees. In the United States, wages for most workers are set by Supply and demand, market forces, or else by collective bargaining, where a labor union negotiates on the workers' behalf. The Fair Labor Standards Act establishes a minimum wage at the federal level that all states must abide by, among other provisions. Fourteen states and a number of cities have set their own

rates that are higher than the federal level. For certain federal or state government contacts, employers must pay the so-called

as determined according to the Davis-Bacon Act or its state equivalent. Activists have undertaken to promote the idea of a Living wage, living wage rate which account for living expenses and other basic necessities, setting the living wage rate much higher than current minimum wage laws require. The minimum wage rate is there to protect the well being of the working class. In the second quarter of 2022, the total U.S. labor costs grew up 5.2% year over year, the highest growth since the starting point of the serie in 2001.

Definitions

For purposes of federal income tax withholding, 26 U.S.C. § 3401(a) defines the term "wages" specifically for chapter 24 of the Internal Revenue Code: "For purposes of this chapter, the term “wages” means all remuneration (other than fees paid to a public official) for services performed by an employment#U.S. Law, employee for his employer, including the cash value of all remuneration (including benefits) paid in any medium other than cash;" In addition to requiring that the remuneration must be for "services performed by an employment#U.S. Law, employee for his employer," the definition goes on to list 23 exclusions that must also be applied.USC 26 § 3401(a)

References

External links

*
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

– click Chapter 8

– Different laws by State
Average U.S. farm and non-farm wage

Prices and Wages by Decade library guide
- Prices and Wages research guide at the University of Missouri libraries {{Authority control zh-yue:人工 Wages and salaries National accounts