Venezuela just raised its minimum wage for the fifth time in a year

Venezuela’s minimum wage shot up by 50 percent on Sunday, marking the fifth wage increase put into effect by President Nicolas Maduro in the past year. The wage increase is unlikely to make a big difference due to rapidly increasing inflation and food prices. The International Monetary Fund estimates inflation will rise to over 1,600 percent this year. The wage increase applies to government employees and pensioners, which means that workers in the informal economy, a significant part of the country’s workforce, won’t be affected.