Resource Center

In the last decade the concept of living wage has received renewed international attention. This report describes the calculation of living wage in the EU-27 countries. It sheds light on the debates in the subject and consists of 27 case studies. The proposed approach is innovative in the way that it uses prices collected through web-surveys in combination with the standard survey data to provide timely, and reasonably accurate estimates of living wage. The estimated living wage represents the amount of money sufficient to enable the cultural and social participation in society. Living wage is corrected for income tax, and social contributions to be comparable to minimum wage and real wages which are gross earnings. The living wage is estimated for 27 EU countries and rates are contrasted with the national statutory minimum wages.