Laos will raise the minimum monthly pay for private sector workers to LAK 3.4 million (USD 150) from January 2027, the Prime Minister’s Office announced in a notice dated 21 October.
The new total combines a higher base wage of LAK 2 million (USD 88) with a larger living allowance of LAK 1.4 million (USD 62).
At present, the minimum stands at LAK 2.5 million (USD 110), so the change adds more than one-third to workers’ guaranteed monthly pay.
The notice applies to private sector employers, including those in the business and service sectors.
However, it does not cover civil servants or other government employees, who follow a separate salary scale. The government set the minimum monthly salary for civil servants at LAK 3 million (USD 132) in January 2026, but some lower-ranking staff, such as junior soldiers, still earn less, depending on their rank.
The Finance Ministry has therefore proposed to the National Assembly, during its second session, that all civil servants receive at least LAK 3 million per month.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare introduced a living allowance in October 2024 to help workers without formal training cope with higher prices.
The decision follows months of discussion. In March, the authorities reviewed several proposals as living costs rose.
The National Labor Committee asked for the highest figure, LAK 4.1 million (USD 181). The government proposed a total of about LAK 3.6 million (USD 160), based on consumer price data, while employers proposed a smaller increase, about LAK 2.8 million (USD 124).
The final figure falls between those two proposals.
Rising prices explain much of the pressure.
Inflation stood at 5.1 percent in January, and it climbed to 7.8 percent in September, the Lao Statistics Bureau reported. Higher fuel prices and school-related costs drove the increase, while housing, water, electricity and gas recorded the sharpest rise among spending categories.
Meanwhile, many Lao workers continue to look for jobs abroad. More than 300,000 Lao nationals sought work overseas between 2021 and August 2025, mainly in Thailand, South Korea and Japan, according to the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare.
