A wage is the price paid for the use of services of labor per unit of time (per hour, per day, and so on). A wage is an amount of money paid to a worker for some specified quantity of labour. When expressed with respect to time, it is typically called the wage rate.

The wage rate is the pre-tax amount paid per unit of labour. It is often the main monetary item that the worker and the employer focus on. For example, in the United States, as of 2004, the prevailing wage rate for manual labour might range from $10 up to $70 per-hour, depending on the type of work and its location.