Household Income Dropped 6%
Actual income in Costa Rican households dropped by 6 percent between the years 2003 and 2004. The decrease affected both high- and low-income families alike, because in the period analyzed all salary categories did not grow at the same rate that the cost of living went up.

The self-employed were the worst hit, since their household income decreased by 14.1 percent. Public servants saw a 4.2 percent drop and those employed by the private sector sustained a 3.4 percent decrease.

Maids and domestic servants were the only ones to see a positive raise in their income, 3.8 percent more than the increase of the cost of living.

The impoverishment of Ticos, as well as the warning that Costa Rica has gone from a stagnation stage to a deterioration one, are contained in the 11th State of the Nation in Sustainable Development.