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Minimum wages in the EU Member States, 2021
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In the coronavirus year, EU minimum wage increases remained moderate in most Member States. Minimum wages were raised with a median increase of 3 % (in national currencies) from 2020 to 2021. A few Member States decided to freeze the level of the minimum wage into 2021 (among them Belgium, Estonia, Greece, Spain and Cyprus for the occupational rates). This is evident from a report published by Eurofound, EU Agency for the improvement of living and working conditions, 10 June 2021.
Minimum wages are ranged from €332 per month (or less than €2 an hour) in Bulgaria to €2 202 per month (or € 12.73 an hour) in Luxembourg. Thus, the highest minimum wage in the EU was at about 6,6 times higher than the lowest. However, when comparing wage levels, price level differences should also be taken into account in corresponding countries.
Compared with the previous year 2020, minimum wages increased the most in Latvia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Lithuania. The highest increase of the minimum monthly salary was in Latvia: 16, 3 % or 430 euros (2020) to 500 euros (2021). In addition to the EU member states, the report also includes Britain and Norway.
The table with the minimum gross monthly wage in EU countries, 2020-2021
In the table is used converted values: the rates for non-euro-zone countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and the UK) were converted to euro.
| COUNTRY | 2020 (€) | 2021 (€) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luxembourg | 2 142 | 2 202 | 2,8 |
| UK | 1 790 | 1 903 | 6,3 |
| Ireland | 1 707 | 1 724 | 1,0 |
| Netherlands | 1 654 | 1 685 | 1,9 |
| Belgium | 1 626 | 1 626 | 0,0 |
| Germany | 1 584 | 1 610 | 1,6 |
| France | 1 539 | 1 555 | 1,0 |
| Slovenia | 1 019 | 1 110 | 8,9 |
| Spain | 1 108 | 1 108 | 0,0 |
| Malta | 777 | 785 | 1,0 |
| Portugal | 741 | 776 | 4,7 |
| Greece | 758 | 758 | 0,0 |
| Lithuania | 607 | 642 | 5,8 |
| Slovakia | 580 | 623 | 7,4 |
| Poland | 611 | 614 | 0,5 |
| Estonia | 584 | 584 | 0,0 |
| Czechia | 575 | 579 | 0,8 |
| Croatia | 546 | 563 | 3,1 |
| Latvia | 430 | 500 | 16,3 |
| Romania | 466 | 472 | 1,3 |
| Hungary | 487 | 467 | -4,1 |
| Bulgaria | 312 | 332 | 6,6 |
For comparison, the federal minimum wage in the United States was €1 024 in January 2021.
It should also be noted that some countries do not have a statutory minimum wage: Austria, Denmark, Italy, Sweden, Norway and Finland; but they set wage floors in collective agreements. Eurofound has used the full minimum wage rates of 10 particular collective agreements related to low-paid jobs in these countries. In January 2021, for these 10 jobs, the monthly salaries ranged from €699 for domestic cleaners in Italy to €3 256 for waiters and bartenders in Denmark. In Finland the average monthly income, which is based on 10 low-paid jobs, is 1 783 euros. The wage increases were also moderate in these countries. In some cases, the pay increases were postponed.
In Cyprus, there is no basic statutory minimum wage, but statutory rates for selected occupations or sectors exist. According to the Minimum Wage Law, the Council of Ministers of Cyprus may fix by decree minimum wage rates for any occupation in which the wages paid are unreasonably low. (Receptionists and minibar attendants in the hotel industry - €1 070 per month; cleaners in the hotel industry - €970 per month; shop sales assistants, general officeclerks - €870 per month).
Minimum wages are compared at both the monthly and hourly wage levels. The report points out that the hourly wage reflects the reality of the lowest paid job most closely, as many low-paid jobs are part-time or based on hourly pay.
Published 16.06.2021, FINREPO