Rate of low-wage earners in Hungary close to EU average

Budapest (MTI) – Fully 17.8 percent of Hungarian employees are low-wage earners, slightly more than the 17.2 percent European Union average, a summary of data by Eurostat shows.

Eurostat puts the low-wage threshold at two-thirds of the median average hourly wage. The threshold in Hungary is 739 forints (EUR 2.36).

The percentage of low-wage earners in Hungary is under the respective ratios in the Czech Republic (18.7 percent), Poland (23.6 percent), Romania (24.4 percent) and Slovakia (19.2 percent).

Hungary’s government recently reached an agreement with employers and unions on raising the minimum wage for unskilled and skilled workers by 15 percent and 25 percent, respectively, from next year. From 2018, the minimum wage for unskilled and skilled workers is set to rise another 8 percent and 12 percent.

Source: MTI