The 2020-21 edition analysed the relationship between minimum wages and inequality, as well as the wage impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, reporting that in 2020 and 2021 global real wage growth, although down from 2019 (pre-pandemic), was positive (1.5 per cent in 2020 and 1.8 per cent in 2021). 

In 2022, according to the Report, it fell to -0.9 per cent (or -1.4 per cent excluding China from the global computation). 

The 2022 edition focuses on the impact of inflation and COVID-19 on wages and purchasing power, underlining that inflation rose faster for the G20 countries, where real wage growth fell by -2.2%, while slower inflation in the emerging G20 countries meant that real wage growth did not fall to negative values, although it experienced much slower growth when compared to 2021.

The report also stresses the effect of the two concurrent crises, related to COVID-19 and the cost-of-living crisis, on the evolution of the total wage bill, wage inequality, and gender pay gaps. 

The main findings can be summarised as follows:

-        The total wage bill - the sum of all wages received by wage employees during any time - declined during 2020 mostly as a result of employment losses, while in 2021, and particularly in 2022, due to inflation.

-        in the majority of countries for which there is already data on minimum wages, these have declined in real terms during 2020-2022, highlighting the need to adjust them for inflation and to face the cost-of-living crisis.

-        Employment losses from 2020 to 2022 were greater among women (also considering that they are overrepresented in low-paid jobs) and in the informal economy.

-        Changes in wage inequality between 2019 and 2022 show mixed results, increasing in some and declining in other countries.

-        The gender pay gap remains high across countries and regions. As reported in the previous Global Wage Report, women are paid, on average, 20 per cent less than men, and this seems to persist.

The Report's findings seem to be in line with the predictions of the previous edition, which foreshadowed massive downward pressure on workers' wages as a consequence of the economic and employment crisis due to COVID-19 and aimed at adequate and balanced wage policies, also through strong and inclusive social dialogue.

These measures, however, must be embedded in a broader context, which supports the creation of paid jobs and productivity growth of sustainable enterprises.