wage differential meaning

noun
  The difference in the wages paid to different classes of workers (eg skilled and unskilled) in an industry, or to workers doing similar jobs in different industries or areas

[Business]
noun [C]

(Economics )

the difference in rates of pay between different groups of workers, especially the difference between workers with similar jobs in different industries, or between workers with different skills in the same industry:

Wage differentials between large and small firms have widened.

⇨ EARNINGS DIFFERENTIAL, WAGE GAP

[Economics]
A difference in wage rates between two types of worker. Wage differentials may be on account of different levels of skills, different formal qualifications, between unionized and non-unionized firms, or between workers of different age, sex, or ethnic groups. In the UK wage differentials based on age are legal, while those based on sex or ethnic group are not. The desire of groups to maintain traditional differentials within occupations makes some economists fear that minimum wage laws would not just affect the unskilled, but would lead to general wage inflation. The desire to maintain differentials between occupations makes inflationary wage rises tend to spread around the economy.

See also:

equalizing wage differential, and union/non-union wage differential

• compensating wage differential:    [Economics]A diffe ...
• equalizing wage differential:    [Economics]A wage ...
• union-non-union wage differential:    [Economics]The exc ...

Examples

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1. that would upset the wage differential.
2. existing distortions in wage differentials will be magnified.
3. marketization and gender wage differentials
4. compensating wage differential
5. first of all, raw gender wage differentials increased significantly from 1989 to 1997