Free zone manufacturing companies pay new workers RD$3,561, or about US$75, a month. In December of 2002, at an exchange rate of RD$18 to US$1, a worker earned almost US$200. In bars and hotels, minimum wages range from RD$3,975 to RD$2,560 depending on the size of the business. Private watchmen are paid RD$4,160 or US$84 a month. In the depressed area of the frontier, where special incentives exist for companies to invest in free zones, the minimum wage is just RD$1,690, which is just 47.5% of what is paid to workers in other free zones.