The BLOM BANK s.a.l. Research Department’s report, “Lebanese Households Caught Between Low Wages and Soaring Living Costs: A Detailed Look” (October 20, 2026), examines how Lebanese families are being squeezed by low wages and escalating living costs, eroding purchasing power and undermining the ability to meet basic needs. Drawing on An-Nahar’s October 12, 2026 article by Haitham Raslan and a related commentary by Ghadi Haddad, it details essential household budgets, contrasts them with incomes, and documents the widening earnings–expenses gap. The report’s purpose is to quantify the burden and inform policy, calling for measures to raise incomes, support employment and social protection, and to anchor reforms in economic and political stability and sound governance.
Key Insights
- As of August 2025, Lebanon’s private-sector minimum wage was LBP 28 million (about $312 at LBP 89,700 per dollar), while the household model assumes $1,500 in monthly income against $3,010 in basic expenses, leaving a $1,510 deficit even above the legal minimum.
- According to the table on page 4, education ($700, 23.3%), food and groceries ($650, 21.5%), and housing ($600, 19.9%) dominate spending, while electricity and private generators ($220) and gasoline ($250) add pressure amid an April 2026 generator tariff of LBP 8,241/kWh and fuel prices rising from about $27.40 in February 2026 to $30 or more in April.
- Private schooling is a major driver, with annual tuition estimated at $3,500 per child—about $700 per month for two children including transport—and actual education costs can be higher once registration, textbooks, uniforms, and activities are counted.
- Labor market deterioration compounds the squeeze, as an International Labour Organization wage survey in March 2026 found roughly one in three surveyed people out of work and estimated a 40.4% decline in average labor income when accounting for job losses and reduced earnings.
- Households increasingly rely on multiple jobs, spousal income, family help, remittances, borrowing, and drawing down savings, while the report and commentary urge policies to improve wages and purchasing power, expand social protection and employment opportunities, and implement reforms contingent on economic and political stability and good governance.
