INTERNATIONAL REMUNERATION
Worldwide cost of living survey 2003
Tokyo has overtaken Hong Kong as the world's most expensive city, according to the latest cost of living survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.
Moscow remains in second place, followed by Osaka, which has moved up three places since last year. With New York as the base city scoring 100 points, Tokyo scored 126.1 points. The data from the 144-city survey is used by multinational companies to help them determine compensation allowances for their expatriate workers.
London, Copenhagen and Milan remain the EU's costliest cities. European cities rose dramatically in the rankings due to appreciation of local currencies relative to the US dollar.
A final word
"This year, the changing global economic environment has had a major impact on the cost of living index. The depreciation of the US dollar against the Euro, high inflation and economic recession in many countries have modified the scores of a number of cities." -- Yvonne Traber, senior researcher, Mercer Human Resource Consulting.
Want to know more?
Title: Worldwide Cost Of Living Survey 2003, Mercer Human Resource Consulting.
Methodology: The figures for Mercer's cost of living comparisons are based on a survey conducted in March 2003. The survey, which covers 144 cities, measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location. These include housing, food, clothing and household goods, together with transportation and entertainment.
Availability: Individual reports are produced for each city surveyed. Further information and copies of the reports are available from client services, Mercer Global Information Services, Geneva, tel: +41 22 869 3000, web: www.mercerhr.com
To read the press release online jump to www.mercerhr.com/pressrelease/details.jhtml/dynamic/idContent/1096495 jsessionid=GP2H1C2MNVF5KCIHAEEQOCA
Mercer Human Resource Consulting, one of the world's leading consulting organisations, "helps organisations create measurable business results through their people". It has more than 13,000 employees serving clients in some 40 countries worldwide. For more details visit www.mercerhr.com
Posted 20 June 2003