Rents in most European Union capitals exceed the gross minimum wage, placing a significant financial burden on minimum-wage earners, according to an analysis by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) based on EU data.Housing and utility bills account for 23.6 per cent of household spending in the EU, according to Eurostat’s latest figures. The burden is particularly severe in major cities, where the average rent for a two-bedroom flat is higher than the monthly gross minimum wage in most EU countries with a statutory minimum wage.According to the analysis, Prague is the most expensive capital for minimum-wage earners. The average rent for a two-bedroom flat is 1,710 euros, compared with a gross minimum wage of 924 euros. Rent therefore amounts to 185 per cent of the minimum wage.Lisbon ranks second, at 168 per cent. Portugal’s monthly equivalent gross minimum wage is 1,073 euros, based on payment over 14 months, while the average rent is 1,710 euros.The share of the gross minimum wage required for rent is also above 150 per cent in Budapest, at 159 per cent; Bratislava, 158 per cent; Sofia, 154 per cent; Athens, 153 per cent; and Riga, 151 per cent.Rent exceeds the gross minimum wage in several other capitals, including Valletta, at 143 per cent; Paris, 138 per cent; Tallinn, 131 per cent; Madrid, 125 per cent; Bucharest, 122 per cent; Warsaw, 117 per cent; Dublin, 113 per cent; Ljubljana, 105 per cent; and Vilnius, 105 per cent.In Paris, the average rent is 2,523 euros, compared with a minimum wage of 1,823 euros. In Madrid, the corresponding figures are 1,721 euros and 1,381 euros.Brussels is the best-performing capital for minimum-wage earners in the comparison. Its average rent of 1,476 euros represents 70 per cent of the gross minimum wage of 2,112 euros. Berlin follows at 76 per cent, while the figures are 85 per cent in Nicosia, 87 per cent in Luxembourg and 96 per cent in The Hague.However, rents are reportedly more affordable at the country level. Among 16 EU countries analysed, the share of the gross minimum wage required for rent ranges from 33 per cent in Poland to 61 per cent in Malta.The ETUC has called for stronger collective bargaining, consideration of housing costs when setting minimum wages and increased investment in social housing.
