Romania will raise the minimum monthly wage to almost 750 euros next month, the government announced.
The government will also increase the allowance exempt from taxes and social contributions for full-time workers earning the minimum wage, from 200 lei to 300 lei, government spokesman Mihai Constantin said in a press briefing.
Starting Jul 1, the minimum gross salary will be 3,300 lei, the equivalent of 743.5 euros the government spokesperson said on Thursday.
In January 2024, gross minimum monthly wages across the EU ranged from 477 euro in Bulgaria to 2,571 euro in Luxembourg, according to Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office.
The majority of EU countries have minimum gross monthly wages of around 1,000 euro. Denmark, Italy, Austria, Finland and Sweden have no national minimum wages.
More than three-quarters of a million employees earn the minimum wage in Romania, but the raise will affect some 1.8 million people who earn between 3,300 lei and 3,700 lei.
Romania’s decision to increase the minimum wage comes amid efforts to rein in its fiscal deficit, which was 3.24% of the GDP in the first four months of 2024, the finance ministry said in April.
Romania’s has budgeted for a deficit of 5% of GDP at the end of 2024, a conservative estimate according to the International Monetary Fund which has forecast a deficit of mpre than 6% of GDP.
European Commission officials said they were “very concerned” about Romania’s fiscal standing earlier this year, predicting an even bigger budget gap this year.
