Κατώτατος μισθός

This report examines trends in employment in low-paid jobs and whether minimum wage policies influenced employment structures across the EU Member States between 2001 and 2024. Using a jobs-based framework and harmonised EU data, the analysis starts with a description of employment trends in selected low-paid jobs and in the whole employment structure, where patterns of upgrading and, to a lesser extent, polarisation emerge across Member States.

This year’s annual review presents the discussions around minimum wage setting that took place in the EU Member States and Norway during 2025 and led to the new rates for 2026. It includes information on countries with and without a national minimum wage. It provides data on the significant progress on national minimum wages over the past decade; minimum wages have typically outperformed inflation and there have been increases in average wages in most countries.

Minimum wage growth remains real and substantial for 2026. Many EU Member States with a statutory or national minimum wage have continued to apply more structural uprates, with the aim of reaching a higher percentage value of actual (average or median) wages. The most likely driver of this is the Minimum Wage Directive and its stipulation that countries must adhere to ‘indicative reference values that guide their assessment of adequacy’. At the same time, in a few Member States, progress on reaching targets previously set has been slower.

This year’s report presents the minimum wage rates for 2025 and how they were set and uprated during 2024. It includes information on countries with and without national minimum wages. In addition, it provides the first comparative overview of how Member States have transposed the Minimum Wage Directive and presents new estimates of the proportion of minimum wage earners and their ability to afford housing. Finally, it summarises research on minimum wages published during 2024.