Currently Polish people can buy more goods than Portuguese – for the minimum wage.
In January the minimal wage in Poland has increased to 376,58 EUR gross per month. This is the highest in Eastern European countries, but still much less than it is in Western Europe. The lowest minimum wage there is in Romania (157 EUR), and the highest in Luxembourg – 1 874 EUR per month. Eurostat includes us in the group of countries with the lowest minimum wage. The situation is quite different, however, if we take into account the purchasing power parity of wages. In this comparison we belong to the middle-income countries. What’s more, in 2013, for the first time Poland was ahead of the country of the “old” EU – Portugal. The fact that a Pole for minimum wage can buy more goods and services than the Portuguese, it is a good news for the public. After all Portugal is a country wealthier than Poland. According department of labor research, the minimum wage is shaping at 40 percent of the average earnings. In less wealthier areas, such as Eastern Poland, the minimum wage can have a much higher purchasing power than in Warsaw. It is estimated that the minimum wage in Poland receives about 3 percent of employees.