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Wages. The hourly minimum wage was SAT$2.30 until 2020, when it rose to SAT$3.0019. It rose to SAT$4.00 on 1 July 2024 and SAT$4.84 on 1 July 2025 under Fiamē, and to SAT$5.24 on 1 July 2026 under Laʻauli, with SAT$5.65 and SAT$6.05 to follow in July 2027 and July 20281214. No measured employment effect of the rises has been published. The average gross wage of paid employees was SAT$1,268 a month in the 2017 labour force survey and SAT$1,620 in 20223.
Jobs. The 2022 labour force survey measured 5.0% unemployment, 13.4% among 15 to 24 year olds and 43.8% labour force participation; the 2017 survey had found 14.5% and 31.9%3. The 2022 survey, published in January 2024, is the latest national labour force survey, so no measured unemployment rate exists for either FAST government after that year3. It found 25.3% of employment informal, down from 37.3% in 2017, and agriculture the principal industry for 30.0% of employed people3.
Workers abroad. 2,215 Samoans were in Australia's PALM scheme in September 2025, down 19% over the year10. In a Chamber of Commerce survey of 408 businesses between July 2025 and April 2026, 47% reported staff departures linked to RSE, PALM or StarKist, and 32% reported declining productivity8.
Prices. Average inflation reached 10.9% in 2022 and 7.9% in 2023, with food prices up 15.5% and 15.9%, before falling to 2.2% in 2024 and 202511. Prices were 5.8% higher in June 2026 than a year earlier as fuel costs rose, and 3.4% higher in September 2026511. ADB expects fuel and transport costs, including the 30% taxi and bus fare rise of July 2026, to squeeze purchasing power in FY2026/2712.
Poverty. SBS puts 15.2% of people below the basic-needs line in 2023 (16.5% rural, 8.9% urban) and 17.6% of children aged 0 to 14; the 2018 figure was 21.9%, but SBS warns that changed survey and poverty methods limit direct comparison6. Nine in ten households received cash remittances in the year before the 2023 survey13. The World Bank's October 2026 outlook says poverty is likely to have declined further since 2023 on low inflation and strong tourism and remittances, but no later measured rate exists4.
What is unknown. The senior citizens benefit rose from SAT$300 to SAT$500 a month on 1 July 2026 for an expected 7,285 people aged 70 and over, and the child benefit's first disbursements are scheduled for January 2027; no measured effect of either on poverty or work has been published72. What would show it: the next labour force survey and household income survey.