What is the financial incentive to immigrate? An analysis of salary disparities between health workers working in the Caribbean and popular destination countries

Table 1 Registered nurse salaries of selected countries for three levels of work experience

		Jamaica⁵	Dominica⁸	St Lucia¹¹	Grenada	UK	US²⁰	Canada²¹
0-3 yrs	NCU¹	1,120,696	27,032	42,063¹¹	27,888¹⁴	21,692¹⁷	52,252	59,660
	XCD²	23,764	27,032	42,063	27,888	80,043	142,125	122,900
	US ($)³	8737	9938	15,464	10,253	26,846	52,252	45,099
	PPP ($)⁴	13,091	14,891	23,171	15,362	30,989	52,252	46,976
	% PPP ($) gap over Caribbean average (16,629)					86.4	214.2	182.5
5–10 yrs	NCU	1,764,916⁶	37,451	47,357¹²	43,884¹⁵	30,764¹⁸	60,364	69,084
	XCD	37,424	37,451	47,357	43,884	113,517	164,190	142,313
	US ($)	13,759	13,769	17,411	16,134	38,073	60,364	52,223
	PPP ($)	20,615	20,630	26,087	24,174	43,948	60,364	54,397
	% PPP ($) gap over Caribbean average (22,877)					92.1	163.9	140.1
10–20 yrs	NCU	2,575,035⁷	37,451	53,029¹³	50,724¹⁶	49,934¹⁹	68,393	80,085
	XCD	54,602	37,451	53,029	50,724	184,255	186,029	164,975
	US ($)	20,074	13,769	19,469	18,649	61,798	68,393	60,539
	PPP ($)	30,078	20,630	29,212	27,942	71,334	68,393	63,059
	% PPP ($) gap over Caribbean average (26,966)					164.5	153.6	133.8

¹salary in own national currency unit
²Author calculations. Eastern Caribbean Dollars (XCD) using average 2016 market rate [85]
³Author calculations. US dollars using average 2016 market rate [85]
⁴Author calculations. International dollar purchasing power parity (PPP) [86]
⁵ [43]
⁶Mid-point of grade 4
⁷End of grade 6
⁸ [43] Scale point 19
^9,10 Scale point 12
¹¹ [87]. Starting salary on grade 9
¹²mid-point of grade 10
¹³ end point of grade 11
¹⁴ [88]. Starting on grade G
¹⁵point 5 of grade H
¹⁶point 5 of grade I
¹⁷Corresponds to Band 4, point 15 [41, 45]
¹⁸ Band 6 [41, 45]
¹⁹Band 7 to 8c [41, 45]. Directors of nursing can earn an additional 50% more [89]
²⁰Variation is large for the US as reported above [59]
²¹Canadian nurses start at step 1, mid-career (5–10 years is step 3) with some regional variation especially due to remote region allowances [67]

ISSN: 1472-6963