Over one fifth of the workers in our country are low paid

16.12.2020

Over one fifth of the workers in our country are low paid

21.4% of Bulgarians were low-paid employees in 2018. They earned less than two thirds compared to the average gross hourly wage for the country. According to this indicator, Bulgaria ranks fifth in the EU, according to Eurostat data. Separate statistics show that the average gross hourly wage in Bulgaria is the lowest in the EU at 2.4 euros. The data also refer to 2018.

Two years ago, 15.3% of employees in the union received low salaries compared to 16.4 percent in 2014. 18.2% of women were low-paid employees in 2018 compared to 12.5% ​​of men.

The share of low-paid employees varies considerably among Member States. It is highest in Latvia - 23.5%, followed by Lithuania - 22.3, Estonia - 22%, and Poland - 21.9%. On the other hand, less than 10% of employees were underpaid in Sweden - 3.6%, Portugal - 4%, Finland - 5%, Italy - 8.5%, France - 8.6%, and Denmark - 8, 7%.

The lower the education of the people, the more likely they are to earn below the average salary in their country. More than a quarter (27.1%) of low-educated EU employees received low salaries. At the same time, low-paid employees accounted for only 4.6% of employees with higher education.

In 2018, the share of low-paid employees in the EU was the highest in the accommodation and food services sector - 39%, followed by administrative and service activities - 33%.

As of October 2018, the average gross hourly wage was the highest in Denmark - 27.2 euros, followed by Luxembourg - 19.6 euros, Sweden - 18.2 euros, Belgium and Ireland - 18 euros each, Finland - 17, 5 euros, and Germany - 17.2 euros.

After Bulgaria, the average gross hourly wage was the lowest in Romania with 3.7 euros, followed by Hungary and Lithuania with 4.4 euros each, Latvia with 4.9 euros, Poland with 5 euros, Croatia and Portugal with 5, 4 euros and Slovakia with 5.6 euros. The highest average gross hourly wage among EU member states was 11 times higher than the lowest level expressed in euros. Expressed in the purchasing power standard, which eliminates price differences between countries, the highest average gross hourly wage among EU member states was four times higher than the lowest level in the union.