工资又名薪水，是雇员作出有偿劳动而获得的现金收入，属于员工薪酬的主要部份。广义上的工资，还包括各种以现金发放的薪酬，例如津贴。

工资（wage）是指给普通劳力的报酬，以劳动时间为基础来计算。换取员工依据合约或其他协议所提供的服务而支付的报酬；通常是以金钱作为报酬，并且依据计时、计天或计件工作来支付。

而薪水（salary）是指给专业人士的报酬，换取员工持续的工作或服务，以相对比较长一点的时间段为基础来计算（但可能按月来支付），不以劳动时间为基础来计算。

A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis. From the point of view of running a business, salary can also be viewed as the cost of acquiring and retaining human resources for running operations, and is then termed personnel expense or salary expense. In accounting, salaries are recorded in payroll accounts.