Zurich workers have highest take-home pay
Zurich is the world's fifth most expensive city but its residents have the highest purchasing power, a UBS cost-of-living study has found.
While the highest gross wages are paid in Copenhagen and Oslo, workers in Zurich take home the most pay after tax and social security deductions, according to the bank’s Prices and Earnings 2008 study of 71 cities worldwide.
Geneva workers are the next highest net earners, followed by Luxembourg, Berlin and Dublin. Those in Jakarta and Mumbai have the lowest purchasing power.
Oslo, London and Copenhagen were the three most expensive cities, with Dublin in fourth position, followed by Zurich. The least expensive was Kuala Lumpur.
UBS Wealth Management Research compared the prices of goods and services, wages, wage deductions and working hours with related purchasing power in each of the cities.
Net wage calculations were based on wage figures, social security contributions and working hours for 14 professions.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.