Minimum Wage

Consumer-protection group Fundación Artículo 19 puts the monthly basic food basket for a five-person household at over L16,000 (about $640), far above the government's figure of roughly L8,600.

Honduras's basic food basket has climbed to 16,700 lempiras (about $670), far exceeding the 12,000–14,000-lempira minimum wage, prompting economist Wilfredo Girón to warn that deteriorating purchasing power will force more Hondurans to emigrate as poverty deepens.

Honduras's basic food basket has risen to about L16,000 (roughly $640) per month, exceeding the average minimum wage of L14,917, forcing many families to send at least two earners to work just to cover food costs.

Honduras's labor federations say they will immediately seek a minimum-wage adjustment if inflation reaches 7%, invoking a safeguard clause in the current wage agreement, citing rising fuel and food costs eroding workers' purchasing power.

Labor leader Hilario Espinoza said inspectors are distributed nationwide to verify employers are paying the legal minimum wage, though he acknowledged enforcement challenges and noted inflation has risen to 6%, approaching the 7% threshold that would trigger wage renegotiation.

More than 261,000 Honduran children in child labor earn an average of L4,279 (about $172) monthly—three times less than the L14,917 minimum wage—with rural children and those aged 5–9 earning the least.

The National Autonomous University reports the basic food basket rose 800 lempiras (about $32) over a year, but the government puts the increase at 244 lempiras, amid broader inflation running 5.83% annually against an official target of 4%.