Panama Minimum Wage 2026: Hourly Rates by Region and Activity

In Panama the minimum wage isn’t a single number: it’s set per hour, by region, economic activity, occupation and company size. The current rates are those of Executive Decree 13 of December 31, 2025, published in Official Gazette 30438 on January 6, 2026, which has applied since January 16, 2026 and repealed Executive Decree 1 of 2024. Panama uses the balboa, at par with the US dollar.

This isn’t employment or legal advice. It’s what the decree and the Labor Code say, and what the Ministry of Labor (MITRADEL) publishes, checked on September 24, 2026. The rate for your exact activity is in the decree or in the ministry’s online lookup, both in Spanish.

How it’s set

Panama’s Labor Code defines the minimum wage as the lowest amount of money an employer must pay, set per unit of time for the region, activity or profession (article 173). It’s set at least every two years, by executive decree and on the recommendation of the National Minimum Wage Commission (article 174), which according to MITRADEL has three sides: employers, workers and government.

The December 2025 decree carries the rates that commission recommended for 2026 and 2027.

The two regions

Region 1: the districts of Panamá (Panama City), Colón, San Miguelito, David, Santiago, Chitré, Aguadulce, Penonomé, Bocas del Toro, La Chorrera, Arraiján, Capira, Chame, Antón, Natá, Las Tablas, Bugaba, Boquete, Taboga, San Carlos, Chepo, Guararé, Los Santos, Pedasí, Dolega, San Félix, Barú, Boquerón, Portobelo, Donoso, Santa Isabel, Santa María, Parita, Pesé, Atalaya, Changuinola, Chiriquí Grande, Almirante, Tierras Altas and Omar Torrijos Herrera.

Region 2: every other district in the country.

Activities the decree marks as national have the same rate in both regions.

The rates for the most common activities

Hourly rates, in USD, from article 2 of the decree. Where the decree distinguishes by size, a «large company» is one with at least the number of employees shown:

Activity	Region 1	Region 2
Retail, small company	2.37	1.99
Retail, large company (11 employees)	3.02	2.48
Supermarkets (5 or more branches)	3.09	2.54
Wholesale and commission trade	3.02	2.48
Restaurants, small company	2.32	1.95
Restaurants, large company (11 employees)	3.09	2.54
Nightclubs, bars and cantinas (national)	3.40	3.40
Hotels, small company	2.38	1.98
Hotels, large company (11 employees)	2.96	2.43
Travel agencies, tour operators and reservations	3.09	2.44
Manufacturing, small company	2.32	1.95
Manufacturing, large company (16 employees)	3.13	2.58
Construction	3.51	3.30
Transportation	3.16	2.61
Information and communication (national)	3.16	3.16
Professional, scientific and technical activities (national)	3.02	3.02
Real estate activities	3.47	3.10
Spas and aesthetic clinics	3.43	2.57
Other service activities	3.12	2.55
Domestic worker (monthly)	350.00	320.00

The decree has many more rows for specific cases —gas stations, casinos, gyms, mechanics, port workers—: if your activity has its own row, that’s the one that applies.

From hourly rate to weekly pay

The math is the hourly rate times the hours worked. Article 31 of the Labor Code sets the maximum shifts:

Shift	Maximum per day	Maximum per week
Day	8 hours	48 hours
Night	7 hours	42 hours
Mixed	7.5 hours	45 hours

It adds that seven night hours and seven and a half mixed hours are paid as eight daytime hours when calculating the minimum wage.

An example: a small retail business in Region 1, with a 48-hour day shift, pays at least 2.37 × 48 = USD 113.76 a week.

Overtime

Anything beyond the shift is overtime and carries a surcharge on the wage (article 33):

• 25% if it’s during the daytime period.
• 50% if it’s at night, or extends a mixed shift that started in the daytime.
• 75% if it extends a night shift, or a mixed shift that started at night.

What comes with hiring

Paying the minimum is one part. An employer in Panama also registers with the Social Security Fund (CSS) and files a monthly payroll. If you’re setting up a business to operate in Panama, the first step is the operating notice → Panamá Emprende and the operating notice.

Official sources (in Spanish)

• The minimum wage in Panama — MITRADEL, with Executive Decree 13 of December 31, 2025 (Official Gazette 30438, January 6, 2026).
• Minimum wage lookup — MITRADEL, by region, economic activity and province.
• Labor Code — MITRADEL: articles 31, 33 and 172 to 180.

Review: these rates are for 2026 and 2027; this guide will be reviewed when the next decree is issued.