Portugal Jobs and Minimum Wages Overview 

Portugal jobs and minimum wages are regulated by the state to ensure equality and harmony among its citizens. In Portugal, there is a law on everything. Hence, minimum wages are also fixed for jobs. Which is imposed by the government itself, everyone in the country has to pay these basic wages and salaries to their employees. If a person does not pay the minimum wage, which is currently 870 euros, and pays less than that, it will be considered an illegal act by the government, and they will be punished.

Portugal Jobs and Minimum Wages in 2025

Portugal jobs and minimum wages are the most searched topics. The minimum wage in Portugal is currently 870 euros, which is to be implemented from 1 January 2025. Changes in the minimum wage keep coming. It depends on the government whether the government brings further changes in the minimum wages or not.

 The minimum wages will be in euros and before tax.  The tax rate earlier; now, tax is an important topic. Now, tax is a separate topic that many people do not know.

How Minimum Wages are Regulated in Portugal 

According to the Portuguese constitution, it is the responsibility of the state to set the minimum wage and update it. The minimum wages being given in jobs since 2009 were updated on 19 December 2024. So overall, if you analyze comparatively, there has been no significant increase or change in the minimum wages.

The government also prepared a new draft in 2024, in which it was proposed that changes would be made in the labor code and general laws, but there were no significant changes. However, after January 2025, the minimum wage for a job in Portugal is 870 euros. The minimum wage in any country is decided by its government, which is fixed equally for every citizen.

Portugal Minimum Wage Increase 

In Portugal, the minimum wage has been increased to 870 euros from 1 January 2025. In Madeira, the same wage is 915 euros, and in the Azores region, the minimum wages are 913 euros. It mostly depends on the company, but if a company comes under a collective bargaining agreement, it also increases its minimum wage. Wages are regularized for economic growth every year. For this effort, the government has signed a multi-year agreement 2025-2028 with social partners in October 2024. 

Under this agreement, the minimum wage will be increased every year. Its target has been set from 4.4% to 5%. According to this, the minimum salary in Portugal will increase to 1890 euros by 2028. Some tax incentives have also come in 2025, through which salaries of permanent employees are increased, hence salary growth and employment, and the workplace environment become better.

Process of Portugal Jobs and Minimum Wages 

In Portugal, there is a legal process to decide and set minimum wages, which is according to the labor code. And it is followed. The level of minimum wages is fixed according to this code. The Labor Code (Law 7/2009, Article 273) governs the procedure by which the government determines Portugal’s statutory minimum wage through a Decree-Law following consultation with the tripartite Commission of Social Concentration (CPCS), which consists of the government, employers, and unions.

 The government usually abides by the consultation’s conclusions even if they are not legally binding. Following the Troika Memorandum’s pay freeze from 2012 to 2014, annual updates and consultations were resumed. This resulted in tripartite agreements in 2015 and 2016 that focused on raising the minimum wage, as well as more general agreements in 2017, 2023, and 2024.

Collective bargaining has been influenced by tripartite agreements since 2022, which include guidelines for both minimum wage increases and average wage growth.  The larger socioeconomic objectives of poverty alleviation, inequality reduction, and raising the labor share of income are all intended to be addressed by these wage increases.  Regular wage impact monitoring was also incorporated in the 2016 agreement.  All things considered, these measures support inclusive economic growth and Portugal’s long-term goal of achieving the European wage average.

Portugal Jobs and Minimum Wages make it Possible to live

In comparison to the rest of Europe, Portugal has a comparatively low cost of living.  However, numbers estimate that the average cost of living in Portugal for a single person, excluding rent, is roughly €682.  Rent in Portugal is €16.40/m2 on average (€20.10 in Lisbon, 2025 projections), so living on this salary without roommates could be challenging.

Portugal Jobs and Minimum Wages based on Gender 

In Portugal, women are paid 8.6% less for doing the same work as men on average.  However, this is better than the 12.7% EU average.  Out of 146 nations, Portugal comes in at number 78 for wage equality for similar work, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2024. 

To promote pay equality and increase wage transparency, the nation has introduced legislation.  Every year, businesses with more than 50 workers are required to submit pay data to the government, which examines it for gender disparities.  The business must present an evaluation plan to address any discrepancies it discovers.

Portugal Jobs and Minimum Wages for International Workers

According to research by the International Labor Organization, Portugal has one of the largest pay disparities for migrants, with foreign workers making, on average, 28.9% less than Portuguese natives in 2020. This may be since less than 20% of foreign workers are employed in highly skilled positions. 

According to a 2023 Migration Observatory report on integration, non-citizens typically work in manufacturing, construction, clothing manufacture, driving, assembly, and so-called non-skilled occupations .

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