Over half the workforce earns $4k or less a month
(CNS): Some 58% of workers in the Cayman Islands are earning $4,000 or less per month, which, given the cost of living here, means most people are struggling to make ends meet despite having full-time jobs. The figure comes from the ESO’s Occupational Wage Survey, which was published Friday and gives a snapshot of how the country’s workforce fared when it comes to earnings and compensation between March last year and this.
As of March 2024, the average monthly total compensation, including benefits, commissions, bonuses, gratuities, tips, and acting or duty allowances, was $5,043. However, the majority of people receive far less, and the average is distorted by the country’s very high earners, who mostly work in the offshore sector.
In reality, over 62% of the workforce receive only $4,100 monthly in total compensation, and 10% survive on an annual compensation package of $20,000 or less.
The gap between Cayman’s best-paid workers and those at the bottom of the earnings graph is significant. Employees in the legal and accounting sectors receive an average monthly compensation package of $9,743, while those working in the accommodation sector average a total of just $2,491 or basic earnings of $1,789.
Caymanian workers also earn more than those on permits, with an average basic wage of $4,968 per month, while the average for overseas workers was $4,200. Men earn around $100 a month more than women.
Excluding domestic workers and caregivers employed mostly in homes, most employers provide some form of benefits to their workers. More than 91% pay vacation and sick leave as required by law. However, almost 40% of employers do not provide paid maternity leave.
While almost 94% of employers offered health insurance to employees, which is also mandatory under the law, only 31% of the respondent employers said they were paying the mandatory pension payments for employees at the time of the survey.
The ESO did not indicate why such a low number of employers were paying pensions, as the holiday on pension payments as a result of COVID ended in 2022.
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Category: Local News
Wow, where are all those $25.00 per hour construction workers salary at? Does that $25.00 then add, health insurance, pension, paid holiday, paid sick pay, overtime, paid vacation and of course the employer is paying for the employees work permit in full. The truth is most of these jobs pay one cheap rate, no insurance, pension, holiday or anything and then the employee must pay for their own work permit. These workers are lucky to take home $2,000 per week and these developers and people that hire them just love it because it is CHEAP. Stop the lies!
Cheers CNS. I have just found out I’m as bang average as can be!
Seriously though, 1 in 17ish don’t appear to have health insurance. Maybe some enforcement wouldn’t go amiss here, straight after they’ve done the same for the clowns not paying pension.
Do they publish median figures, too?
Now do the same for black market economy!
lower the duty on food and booze and that will help.