Romania has highest growth rate of the minimum wage in EU

The minimum gross wage in Romania increased by an average annual rate of 11.4% between January 2008 and January 2018, the highest growth rate in the European Union, according to the EU’s statistical office Eurostat. However, Romania still had the third-lowest minimum gross wage in EU, namely EUR 408 in January 2018. The only countries with lower minimum wages were Bulgaria, with EUR 261, and Lithuania (EUR 400). Meanwhile, the minimum grow wage was highest in Luxembourg (EUR 1,999), Ireland (EUR 1,614), Netherlands (EUR 1,578), Belgium (EUR 1,563), and Germany and France (both EUR 1,498). Only 22 of the 28 EU countries have minimum wages set by law. The minimum gross wage in Romania increased by 31% on January 1, 2018, from EUR 320 to EUR 408. However, the increase was mainly due to the transfer of social contributions from the companies to the employees, meaning that employees had to pay higher taxes and contributions from their gross wages. The minimum net wage thus only increased by 4.3%, to EUR 239. Average net wage in Romania, up by 11.7% in 2017 editor@romania-insider.com