The Government of Panama announced the approval of a minimum wage increase of between 10 and 15 dollars per month, which will come into effect on January 16, 2026, following a 'historic consensus' reached for the first time between the worker sector, employers, and the Government in a tripartite commission. The Ministry of Labor and Labor Development (Mitradel), in a statement that does not establish the percentage of the increase, but only the nominal amount, noted that the new adjustments that will benefit 'more than 400,000 workers' were achieved by consensus in the National Minimum Wage Commission after 'analyzing alternatives transparently and sector by sector'. The head of the Labor portfolio, Jackeline Muñoz, highlighted the 'commitment and responsibility with which both workers and employers managed to agree, placing social peace and the well-being of the country as a priority'. In Panama, there are more than fifty minimum wages, depending on the economic activity and the area where it is developed, and it must be reviewed every two years by law through a dialogue between unions and employers, who had never, until now, reached a consensus. The table began its sessions on November 21 and had a deadline until December 10. If, as has historically happened, employers and workers did not reach an agreement, it would be the Executive that would define the adjustment to the minimum wage. According to data for October 2024, the unemployment rate in Panama stands at 9.5% and the informality rate at 49.3%, although local analysts assure that unemployment has already reached double digits. In January 2024, the then Government decreed an increase of between 4.5% and 7% of the minimum wage in both urban and rural areas, which left this income at least at 341.12 dollars per month. An increase of 4.5% was applied to small businesses, one of 6% in large companies, and one of 7% in the banana sector, announced Mitradel at the time. In addition, it specified that with the adjustment, 'the minimum wage as a simple average' remained at 636.80 dollars per month in Panama, with the highest being 1,015.03 dollars for air transport mechanics and the lowest at 341.12, in the small business of the agricultural and livestock sector.
