subsistence wage
Bare minimum earnings
A subsistence wage is pay that barely covers basic survival needs—food, shelter, clothing—with nothing left over.
The term implies criticism: workers earning subsistence wages cannot save, advance, or live with dignity.
Factory workers in the region earn subsistence wages at best.
Distinguished from a living wage, which allows for modest comfort beyond mere survival.
- povertySevere lack of resources
- below the lineNon-recurring financial items
- survivalRemaining alive against odds
- cost of livingPrice of basic necessities
- paycheckCompensation for labor
working poor · breadline · making ends meet · scraping by · meager · hand-to-mouth · exploitation · sweatshop · day labor · labor · struggling · back rent · rent · bills · factory · two jobs · overtime · exhaustion
- low wageslow pay, below market rate
- wagessalary, pay, paycheck, income, earnings
- income supportbasic income, guaranteed income, minimum income, universal basic income, UBI
subsistence wageexecutive compensation
Senior management earnings package
living wage · high income · six-figure salary · wealth · fair wage
subsistence wagewealth
Abundance of valuable resources
financial independence · economic freedom · financial security · disposable income · discretionary income
subsist, subsisted, subsisting, subsistence, subsistent, wage, wages, waged, wager