Mexico on $4.27 a day Minimum wage rises by 18 cents, daily rate becomes the same nationally

Beginning today, October 1st, workers across Mexico will see a three-peso hike in the minimum wage — the equivalent of about 18 cents in U.S. dollars.

The increase will bring the minimum wage to 70.10 pesos a day (slightly over $4.27 U.S.). In Mexico, the minimum wage is not typically computed on an hourly basis, but instead per day. Based on a six-day workweek, wage-earners in Mexico would make about $25.66 U.S. weekly under the new pay scale.

Previously, the country had been divided into several zones, each with its own minimum wage, but beginning today, the amount will be the same everywhere in Mexico.

Some economic experts scorned the idea of a three-peso hike in daily wages as a meaningless gesture.

“It's not enough for a ticket on public transportation or to buy a liter of gasoline or a package of eggs,” Alejandro Díaz Bautista, a professor at El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, told El Sol de Tijuana in a story published Sept. 28.

“The minimum wage in Baja California during 2015 is the same as earning 60 cents in dollars per hour,” the professor noted.

Most workers in Mexico earn well over the minimum wage. The October 1st pay increase is expected to affect 751,915 workers nationwide and represents a 4.1 percent increase over last year's minimum, according to Mexico's secretary of labor.

By contrast, in San Diego the minimum wage is currently $9.75 an hour, with an increase to $10.50 an hour planned in 2016 and to $11.50 in 2017, Díaz Bautista told El Sol.