Luxembourg continues to offer the EU’s highest minimum wage

Luxembourg continues to boast the highest minimum wage anywhere in the EU, according to data released on Thursday by the bloc’s official statistics agency Eurostat.

Luxembourg’s monthly gross minimum full-time wage of €2,638 at the start of this year was far ahead of the Republic of Ireland, which had the next highest at €2,282.

Three other EU countries – Belgium, Netherlands and Germany – had minimum wages of over €2,000 per month.

Luxembourg’s minimum wage was over €800 per month more than in neighbouring France, where full-time workers on the lowest pay grade earn just over €1,800 before tax.

Five EU countries – Italy, Sweden, Finland, Austria and Denmark – do not offer a set minimum wage.

Ten of the EU’s 22 countries which do have a set minimum wage paid less than €1,000 per month, with the lowest salary, of €551, in Bulgaria.

However, when adjusted for the cost-of-living, the gaps between minimum wages in terms of purchasing power narrows between different EU countries, with Luxembourg ranking second behind Germany for the purchasing power of those earning the minimum wage.

Luxembourg has two types of minimum wage, one for so-called ‘unqualified’ workers, which is €2,638 since 1 January, and the other for ‘qualified’ employees, which is currently €3,165.

Luxembourg’s policy of wage indexation also regularly provides a boost to pay, with all wages, pensions and welfare benefits automatically rising by 2.5% once inflation crosses a certain level. The next indexation is expected next month, the country’s official statistics agency Statec said earlier this week.