{"id":12977,"date":"2026-04-30T19:32:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T00:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/?p=12977"},"modified":"2026-04-30T16:34:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T21:34:05","slug":"panama-cost-of-living-gap-widens-to-319-from-2019-2025-study-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/living\/panama-cost-of-living-gap-widens-to-319-from-2019-2025-study-shows\/","title":{"rendered":"Panama Cost of Living Gap Widens to $319 from 2019 – 2025 Study Shows"},"content":{"rendered":"

Panama faces a growing crisis of labor impoverishment. New research shows wages simply cannot keep pace with rising expenses. The Institute for National Studies (IDEN)<\/a> at the University of Panama released the findings just before May Day.<\/p>\n

The study reveals a stark socioeconomic phenomenon called “employment impoverishment.” Even people with jobs find their paychecks falling further behind the real Cost of living<\/a>. Researchers analyzed data from Panama City, Colon, and other urban areas across the country.<\/p>\n

Wage Growth Falls Dramatically Short<\/h2>\n

Between 2019 and 2025, the Median wage<\/a> grew by only 4.7 percent. The cost of living jumped by 16 percent during that same period. The gap between income and expenses widened from 202 dollars in 2019 to roughly 319 dollars in 2025.<\/p>\n

Professor Euclides Antonio Mendez led the research. He manages the IDEN database. “The more the distance between salaries and the cost of living widens, the more employed people fall into poverty,” Mendez said. [Translated from Spanish]<\/p>\n

“The more the distance between salaries and the cost of living widens, the more employed people fall into poverty.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

By September 2025, when the study concluded, 26 percent of Panamanian workers earned less than 600 dollars. The median salary hovered around 700 dollars. The cost of living line sat at approximately 1,075 dollars.<\/p>\n

\"moradores<\/p>\n

Fuel Price Hikes Worsen the Situation<\/h2>\n

The scenario deteriorated further in 2026. Gasoline prices rose 25 percent. Diesel increased by 46 percent. These spikes triggered cascading effects across transportation, food prices, and other basic goods.<\/p>\n

The study projects the cost of living could climb to nearly 1,700 dollars. That would push the household deficit to about 485 dollars. IDEN researchers anticipate a 6 to 12 percent increase in living costs during 2026 alone. Household salary deficits could land between 380 and 450 dollars.<\/p>\n

“Economic growth does not translate into well-being for the majority of the population,” the study concludes. [Translated from Spanish]<\/p>\n

\"gas<\/p>\n

Informal Employment Remains Stubbornly High<\/h2>\n

Professor Mendez noted that while the number of employed workers now exceeds 1.21 million people, much of that recovery comes from low-paying jobs. These positions often lack stability and benefits.<\/p>\n

Informal employment remains one of the most persistent features of Panama’s labor market. It currently reaches 47 percent nationwide. In indigenous regions, that figure skyrockets to 95 percent.<\/p>\n

Middle Class Faces Erosion<\/h2>\n

The disconnect between wages and living costs produces multiple damaging effects. Poverty rates could increase by 3 to 6 percentage points, according to the study.<\/p>\n

The middle class faces what researchers describe as “an erosion process characterized by the loss of savings capacity, reduced consumption, and increased economic vulnerability.” [Translated from Spanish]<\/p>\n

Panama’s challenge extends beyond creating more jobs. The country must ensure those jobs provide wages that actually cover the real cost of living. The report suggests the situation demands urgent policy attention.<\/p>\n

Researchers presented their findings in the study titled “Panama in Social Tension: Occupation, Employment, Salaries and the Cost of Living at the Close of the First Quarter of the 21st Century.” The data paints a sobering picture of economic strain across the nation.<\/p>\n

\"gangas<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Panama faces a growing crisis of labor impoverishment. New research shows wages simply cannot keep pace with rising expenses. The Institute for National Studies (IDEN) at the University of Panama released the findings just before May Day. The study reveals a stark socioeconomic phenomenon called “employment impoverishment.” Even people with jobs find their paychecks falling<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12978,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[34,30,87],"tags":[4029,4030,4031],"class_list":{"0":"post-12977","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-living","8":"category-business-economy","9":"category-featured","10":"tag-panama-cost-living-grows","11":"tag-panama-cost-of-living","12":"tag-panama-salaries"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12977"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12977\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12979,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12977\/revisions\/12979"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}