In 2021, the median monthly earnings of full-time salaried employees (FTEs) was 959.34 euros, with only 29% of FTEs registering monthly earnings above the median value (1,289.50 euros). These are figures released this Friday (24 November 2023) by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
Based on the Personnel Charts, the institute also concludes that, in 2021, in 285 (93%) of the 308 municipalities, the median monthly salary did not exceed 1,000 euros, ranging from 760.40 euros in the municipalities of Gavião and Belmonte to 1,781.36 euros in Castro Verde.
"The median monthly earnings were lower for female TCOs (896.39 euros) than for male TCOs (1,022.00 euros). Only in the municipalities of Oeiras (1,296.49 euros), Lisbon (1,235.44 euros), Porto (1,066.00 euros) and Campo Maior (1,034.63 euros) did women's median earnings exceed 1.000 euros per month, i.e. only in these four municipalities did 50% of the OWCs working there have monthly earnings above that benchmark," reads the INE bulletin.
It should also be noted that the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (AML) had the biggest difference in median monthly earnings between age groups in the year under review: the highest value was in the 35 to 54 age group (1,225.25 euros) and the lowest in the 16 to 34 age group (1,018.32 euros). "Despite being the sub-region with the greatest disparity in median monthly earnings between age groups, it was also the only one where median earnings exceeded 1,000 euros per month in all three age groups," he concludes.
Do those with higher education earn more?
The INE data also shows that the median monthly earnings of TCOs with higher education were higher than the national reference (1,542.60 euros) in 22 municipalities, mainly located in the Lisbon and Porto metropolitan areas.
"The municipality of Vila do Porto (5,020.53 euros) had the highest median monthly earnings for TCOs with higher education and, with figures above 2,000 euros, the municipalities of Sines, Castro Verde, Oeiras and Amadora stood out," says the institute.
Fixed-term and open-ended contracts: are there differences?
According to INE, in the year in question, the median monthly earnings were lower for TCOs with fixed-term contracts than for TCOs with open-ended contracts(858.00 euros and 1,021.00 euros respectively).
"In 62 municipalities, the median monthly earnings of TCOs with a fixed-term contract were higher than the national figure, with the municipalities of Castro Verde (1,542.39 euros), Calheta (1,120.23 euros), Ribeira da Pena (1,028.46 euros) and Oeiras (1,012.94 euros) standing out with figures above 1,000 euros," says INE.
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