Keeping Track

Attention secretaries: If you want a financial boost, move to Switzerland. The figures above show the comparative purchasing power (estimated) of mid-level secretaries in a range of countries. This reflects how many goods and services secretaries can buy, not simply their average wage expressed in dollars. At No. 1: Switzerland, where purchasing power is 107 percent that of the United States level. Lagging behind is Russia, with purchasing power at 3 percent of the US level.

(c) Copyright 1999. The Christian Science Publishing Society