ORANJESTAD — The gap between Aruba’s minimum wage and the income a single person needs to cover basic living expenses kept widening in August, according to new figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).
A single person now needs Afl. 2,697 per month to live at an adequate and socially acceptable standard. With the minimum wage set at Afl. 2,007, that leaves a monthly shortfall of Afl. 690 — up Afl. 48 compared with August last year, when the gap stood at Afl. 642. The current shortfall is the second-highest recorded for the month of August over the past six years.
Wage supplement softens the blow
CBS has recently begun factoring the Afl. 175 monthly compensation supplement for qualifying minimum-wage workers into its calculations. With the supplement, the monthly shortfall drops from Afl. 690 to Afl. 515. A year ago, after applying the same supplement, the remaining shortfall was Afl. 467.
Families under pressure
CBS defines the minimum amount needed to live as the income required to maintain an adequate and socially acceptable standard in Aruba, covering food, clothing, housing, transportation and other essentials, adjusted monthly for price changes.
For a single person, the minimum rose by Afl. 14 in August, from Afl. 2,683 to Afl. 2,697. For a family of two adults and two children, the amount reached Afl. 5,663 per month — Afl. 29 more than in July and Afl. 144 more than a year earlier. Of that Afl. 144 increase, Afl. 86 came from higher food and non-alcoholic beverage prices, transportation added Afl. 35, and housing costs rose by Afl. 10.
Inflation climbs again
The rising cost of living coincided with renewed inflation. In August, consumer prices were 2.7% higher than in the same month of 2025, up from 2.2% annual inflation in July. Between July and August alone, the overall price level rose 0.5%.
Transportation grew particularly expensive: prices in the category were nearly 11% higher than a year earlier, making it the largest contributor to overall inflation. The increase was largely driven by fuel — gasoline rose more than Afl. 0.25 per liter compared with July (+9.4%), while diesel climbed nearly Afl. 0.30 per liter (+11.6%). Year on year, gasoline was more than 27% more expensive and diesel nearly 40% more expensive. Electricity and water prices were unchanged.
Food for home consumption cost nearly 4% more than a year earlier. Fruit prices rose nearly 11%, meat nearly 5%, and non-alcoholic beverages 4.4%; fish and seafood were the only category to get cheaper. Among monthly moves, potatoes jumped more than 35% from July while milk prices fell more than 40% — though CBS notes such swings in individual products have limited effect on overall inflation given their small weight in the consumption basket.
Source: 24ora English
