The minimum wage and average salary in Luxembourg in 2025

When considering finding a job abroad, you’ll want to weigh a country’s average salaries with its cost of living to make sure you can live comfortably. With the highest minimum wage in Europe, Luxembourg is an attractive option for working abroad.

The country has strict labor laws that ensure wage equality and there is virtually no gender pay gap. However, a worker’s age and experience alter their minimum wage in Luxembourg so it’s important to know what to expect in your case.

Keep reading for more about the following:

The minimum wage in Luxembourg in 2025

Luxembourg has the highest monthly minimum wage in the European Union at €2,637.79 in 2025. The minimum hourly pay in Luxembourg is €15.24 for unskilled workers age 18 and up.

Legally, Luxembourg’ government must review minimum wage rates every two years in consideration of changes in the economy, inflation, and income. The minimum wage is subject to adjustments due to the cost of living – based on the consumer price index – and economic development.

There are four tiers for social minimum wage in Luxembourg, depending on the employee’s age and qualifications. These wages are set according to a standard 40-hour work week.

Luxembourg’s minimum wage as of 1 January 2025:

Worker’s age	Hourly minimum wage	Monthly minimum wage
18 years and older, skilled	€18.29	€3,165.35
18 years and older, unskilled	€14.24	€2,637.79
17 years old	€12.19	€2,110.23
15 or 16 years old	€11.43	€1,978.34

By law in Luxembourg, basic salaries also cover several additional benefits. For example, employees are entitled to a minimum of 26 days of annual leave, 8 weeks of prenatal leave plus 12 weeks of postnatal leave for mothers, and 10 days of paternity leave for fathers.

Employees may also receive special leave for personal reasons, such as marriage (three days), moving (two days), or the death of a spouse (three days).

Occasional sick days are also part of the basic salary, though there are different policies for extended absences.

Variations in Luxembourg’s minimum wage

The main variation in Luxembourg’s minimum wage comes from an employee’s age and experience. The base minimum wage increases by 20% for a skilled worker and decreases 20–25% for an adolescent worker. Adolescent workers cannot be considered skilled.

In addition to these variations, Luxembourgish law allows some industries to set their own minimum salaries through collective agreements. However, these should not be lower than the national minimum wage.

Skilled workers in Luxembourg

To qualify for the skilled worker minimum wage (120% of the unskilled minimum wage), you must meet a specific requirement that signifies you are a skilled professional in your field.

One of the following is required for the skilled worker minimum wage:

• An official vocational certification or diploma (certificat d’aptitude technique et professionnelle or diplôme d’aptitude professionnelle)
• A manual skills or vocational capacity certificate (certificat de capacité manuelle or certificat de capacité professionnelle) and at least 2 years’ experience in the position
• A basic vocational and technical certificate (certificat d’initiation technique et professionnelle) and at least 5 years of practical experience
• If they have no official certificates, at least 10 years of vocational experience
• If the vocation does not have official qualifications, at least 6 years of practical experience

Young people working in Luxembourg

Workers under age 18 qualify for a lower minimum wage than their adult counterparts working the same job in Luxembourg.

Minimum wage for workers ages 15 and 16 is 75% of the standard minimum wage, and 80% for workers age 17. Then, at age 18, workers can expect to receive the full 100% social minimum wage in Luxembourg.

Refer to the table above for the current minimum wage rates for employees under 18.

Temporary or part-time workers in Luxembourg

According to Luxembourg labor law, employers must guarantee equal pay for workers on fixed-term or temporary contracts and permanent employees. This means that temporary workers cannot be paid less than their colleagues in the same position with permanent contracts.

The same goes for part-time and full-time employees. Workers with shorter work weeks or fewer hours are entitled to the same hourly pay as those who work full-time.

Luxembourgish internships and apprenticeships

Whether interns in Luxembourg receive the national minimum wage depends on the type of internship and its duration. Here are the basic wage rules for internships and apprenticeships:

• Compensation is not necessary for internships of less than 4 weeks
• Internships longer than 4 weeks pay 30% of the unskilled minimum wage
• Practical training programs of 4–12 weeks receive 40% of the unskilled minimum wage; those of 12–26 weeks receive 75% of the unskilled minimum wage
• Practical training program interns who hold at least a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent education) qualify for the skilled minimum wage

These rules and minimum wage rates apply to both full-time and part-time internships.

Interns undergoing a compulsory program, such as those required by a university program, might not need to be compensated. For example, if the university does not allow payment and compliance is a condition of the internship, payment is not required.

Average salary in Luxembourg

According to the most recent data Eurostat, Luxembourg had the highest average annual full-time salary among reporting EU countries in 2022 at €75,409.

Most people working in Luxembourg can expect to earn somewhere between €2,650 and €8,164/month, depending on in which industry they work. Other factors that influence your salary in Luxembourg are your level of education or training as well as the size of the company you work for. Bigger employers with more employees and an international presence usually pay the highest salaries in Luxembourg.

What are the highest paying jobs in Luxembourg?

Salaries by sector

How much you can expect to earn in Luxembourg heavily depends on the industry in which you’re employed. Here are some of the average gross annual salaries by sector in Luxembourg:

Job sector	Average gross annual salary
Finance and insurance	€113,018
Education	€111,362
Science and technology	€105,145
Public administration	€100,458
Information and communication	€79,881
Health and social work	€77,695
Transportation and warehousing	€66,401
Manufacturing	€60,226
Trade	€52,468
Construction	€49,587
Administration	€48,679

Salaries by profession

In Luxembourg, managers and directors make by far the highest salaries – nearly four times as much as basic level professionals. Here’s how much you can expect from the different professions in Luxembourg:

Occupation	Gross annual income
Directors, executives, and managers	€158,242
Intellectual and scientific professions	€97,772
Intermediate management	€77,479
Administratives	€62,498
Salespeople and traders	€49,570
Skilled trades, including farmers	€48,924
Machine operators and assembly workers	€46,555
Entry level or lower-skilled professions	€40,143

Salary checker in Luxembourg

If you’ve been looking for a job in Luxembourg and finally received an offer, check and see if their proposed salary falls within industry standard rates with a salary checker like Glassdoor or Payscale.

Does Luxembourg have a gender pay gap?

According to Luxembourg labor law, employers must provide equal pay for men and women doing the same work or work of equal value.

In addition to having one of the world’s highest minimum wages, Luxembourg has the only negative gender pay gap in Europe. In fact, women working in Luxembourg make 0.7% more per hour than men on average.

The fact that Luxembourg prioritizes high wages for industries that are predominantly female likely contributes to its non-existent gender pay gap. For example, average salary for someone working in the education sector is €111,362, while construction is only €49,587.

Salaries and wages for expats in Luxembourg

Internationals make up 75% of Luxembourg’s workforce, with Germans, Belgians, French, and Portuguese being the most common nationalities. This percentage includes cross-border workers, who commute to Luxembourg from neighboring Belgium, France, and Germany.

According to data from the Chamber of Employees (Chambre des Salarié – CSL), foreign workers are much more likely to work minimum wage jobs in Luxembourg than Luxembourgish workers. This ranges from a slight gap between Luxembourgish employees and German, French, or Belgian employees to a major discrepancy with workers from Portugal and other countries.

What to do if you’re being paid below the minimum wage

If you are not receiving the national minimum wage for your work, you can report it to the Labor and Mines Inspectorate. Likewise, if you feel you are being paid unequally for your position based on any criteria other than your knowledge, experience, or responsibilities, you can report this to the Labor and Mines Inspection for review.

Luxembourg’s Inspectorate of Labour and Mines (Inspection du travail et des mines) oversees compliance with minimum wage and equal pay.

Should an employer enforce discriminatory or unfair wage policies, Luxembourgish Labour Code stipulates a penalty. This is a fine of €251–25,000, with additional penalties for multiple offenses.

Useful resources

• Chamber of Employees – Luxembourgish agency that supports people working in the country
• Men.lu – information on vocational skill training
• Inspectorate of Labour and Mines – information on Luxembourg labor law enforcement