Samoa minimum wage
Samoa's minimum wage is an HOURLY rate for the private sector and state-owned enterprises, set by Cabinet Directive under section 32 of the Labour and Employment Relations Act 2013 as amended by the Labour and Employment Relations Amendment Act 2023, and administered by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour (MCIL) through its Labour Division / Inspectorate Unit after consultation in the National Tripartite Forum (government, employers, workers).
| Current value | 5.24 WST per hour (private sector and state-owned enterprises) |
|---|---|
| In force from | 2026-07-01 |
| Official source | Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour (MCIL), Employment services — minimum wage: '$5.24 per hour — effective 1 July 2026 (current)', set per Cabinet Directive FK(24)25 under s.32 of the Labour and Employment Relations Amendment Act 2023 |
| Last verified | 2026-07-23 |
| Verification | primary — No verification limitation recorded — read from the official source cited. |
| Provenance | source fingerprint |
What this value means
RECENT UPRATING — this rose on 1 July 2026, three weeks before confirmation, from $4.84 to $5.24 per hour (+40 sene, +8.3%). It is stage three of a pre-legislated multi-year path approved in a single Cabinet Directive FK(24)25 rather than an annual review: $3.00 -> $4.00 from 1 Jul 2024, $4.84 from 1 Jul 2025, $5.24 from 1 Jul 2026, $5.65 from 1 Jul 2027, $6.05 from 1 Jul 2028. Because the future steps are already decided, the next two changes are predictable to the day; the ~365-day cycle reflects the annual step, not a discretionary review. PUBLIC vs PRIVATE — yes, they differ in LEGAL BASIS, and this is the trap: MCIL states expressly that 'workers and employers under the Public Service Act 2004 are not covered' by the minimum wage, because the Labour and Employment Relations Act 2013 does not apply to the public service. Public servants are remunerated under the Public Service Act 2004 / Public Service Commission salary structures instead. State-owned enterprises ARE covered. Some press coverage (including Samoa Global News) describes the rate as applying across 'the public service, state-owned enterprises and private-sector businesses'; that conflicts with MCIL's own coverage statement and should not be relied on — the statutory scope is private sector plus SOEs. A further press hazard: a Samoa Global News HEADLINE reads 'Minimum Wage is $5.84 and does not move to $6.05 until July 2028', but the body of that same article gives $5.24/$5.65/$6.05 and never mentions $5.84 — the headline is an error. DO NOT SERVE $5.84 AS FACT. Rate is per hour with no monthly statutory equivalent; a nominal 40-hour week works out near $839/month but that figure is arithmetic, not law. ACCESS NOTE: the Cabinet Directive FK(24)25 itself is not published online; MCIL's employment-services page is the authoritative public statement of the rate. mcil.gov.ws fetches cleanly.
Earlier values
| From | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-07-01 | 4 | MCIL — stage one of the minimum wage path under Cabinet Dire |
| 2025-07-01 | 4.84 | MCIL — stage two of the minimum wage path under Cabinet Dire |
Get it programmatically
curl https://ausref.dev/v1/ws/minimum-wage
# $0.001 per call — x402 on Base (USDC). No key, no signup.
# History: curl https://ausref.dev/v1/ws/minimum-wage/history?from=2020-01-01
# Provenance: curl https://ausref.dev/provenance/ws/minimum-wageOther Samoa series: policy interest rate · VAT rate · public holidays · inflation rate (CPI) · corporate tax rate · income tax rates