Eurostat: Baltics among lowest minimum wages in EU

2008-12-05
TBT Staff in cooperation with BNS

The Baltics have some of the lowest minimum wage rates in the EU (Photo by Andrea Guerra)

TALLINN 's Information madeavailable by Eurostat on Thursday shows that the three Baltic stateshave some of the smallest minimum wage levels in the EU.

Latvia hasthe smallest minimum wage in the Baltics at 228 euros, and is ahead of only Romaniaand BulgariaEU-wide. Lithuaniaonly fares slightly better at 232 euros. Estonia,meanwhile, not only tops the Baltic states but alsoedges out Slovakiaat 278 euros.

The lowest minimum wages in the EU can be found in Bulgaria(112 euros), Romania(137 euros), Slovakia(267 euros), and Hungary(285 euros). Other new member states Polandand the Czech Republicalso saw relatively low minimum wages at 329 euros and 334 euros respectively.

Eurostat groups the twenty EU member countries in which the minimum wage hasbeen officially set into three groups, of which the former countries ofsocialist camp made up the lowest group.

The second group, where the minimum wage remains between 500 and 700 euros,included Portugal(EUR 497), Slovenia(EUR 567), Malta(EUR 612), Greece(EUR 681) and Spain(EUR 700).

The countries with the highest minimum wage are the United Kingdom (EUR 1,148), France(EUR 1,321), Belgium(EUR 1,336), the Netherlands(EUR 1,357), Ireland(EUR 1,462) and Luxembourg(EUR 1,610).

Eurostat quoted also the minimum wage for Turkeyand the United Statesin July 2008, where it is 333 euros and 652 euros respectively.