DIRECTORATE-GENERAL STATISTICS AND ECONOMIC INFORMATION
PRESS RELEASE 1 December 2011
Checking the paycheck
Mapping the distribution of wages
What are the jobs that make good money? Which sectors pay the highest salaries? What
is the impact of the place of work on wages and salaries? And from what age do you earn
more than the average Belgian?
Answers can be found in the gross monthly earnings of October 2009:
- 10% of all employees earn maximum € 1,945 per month.
- 50% of all employees earn less than € 2,639 per month.
- 10% of all employees earn minimum € 4,474 per month.
- Managers have the highest paychecks, whereas the average wages and salaries are
lowest for waiters, bartenders, hairdressers and beauticians.
- The petrochemical industry pays the highest salaries; hotels, restaurants and pubs
pay the lowest salaries. The latter, however, have seen the strongest salary increases
in terms of percentage since 1999.
- Brussels is the arrondissement with the highest salaries, whereas on average
employers in the arrondissement of Dinant pay the least.
- Employees in the Ostend arrondissement have seen their paychecks increase the
highest in terms of percentage since 1999. This increase was lowest in the
arrondissement of Neufchâteau.
- In general, from the age of 37 Belgians earn more than the national average.
- The impact of the financial crisis on wages and salaries was limited. Only starters saw
the figures on their paychecks shrink.
Remark: wages and salaries mentioned in this publication always refer to gross monthly wages. This
concept comprises periodical premiums that are paid each payment period. Examples are premiums for
night or weekend shifts. Premiums that are only paid exceptionally, such as thirteenth month’s pay or
double holiday pay, are not included in this concept.
Furthermore, the analysis remains limited to full-time employees from enterprises with at least ten
employees. Certain sectors, such as agriculture, fishery, public administration, education, healthcare and
other public services are not included in this study. The reference period for all data is October 2009.
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1. Ten percent of employees earn more than € 4,474
In 2009 the average gross monthly wages of a full-time employee amounted to € 3,027. With € 2,639 the
median salary was significantly lower, which shows that the average is heavily influenced by a relatively
small group of big-earners. This translates in the figure below into a clear peak in lower salary categories,
whereas the black trend line only increases gradually from € 4,000 onward. The higher concentration of
lower salaries can partially be explained by minimum wages being legally established and therefore have a
lower limit, whereas there is no upper limit for the highest salaries.
18%
16%
14%
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
>= 6000 €
5750 - 6000 €
5500 - 5750 €
5250 - 5500 €
5000 - 5250 €
4750 - 5000 €
4500 - 4750 €
4250 - 4500 €
4000 - 4250 €
3750 - 4000 €
3500 - 3750 €
3250 - 3500 €
3000 - 3250 €
2750 - 3000 €
2500 - 2750 €
2250 - 2500 €
2000 - 2250 €
1750 - 2000 €
1500 - 1750 €
< 1500 €
0%
Figure 1: Distribution of wages across 20 classes
The distribution of wages can also be represented by a decile distribution. Ten percent of employees earn a
maximum of € 1,945 on a monthly basis, whereas twenty percent of employees can count on a maximum of
€ 2,137. As mentioned above, the median salary is € 2,639. This implies that 50% of employees earn a
maximum of € 2,639, whereas the other half receives a higher salary. The 10% of employees who earn the
most, are given a monthly salary of at least €4,474 by their employers.
90% earn a maximum of €4,474
90%
80% earn a maximum of €3,611
80%
70% earn a maximum of €3,168
70%
60% earn a maximum of €2,873
60%
50% earn a maximum of €2,639
50%
40% earn a maximum of €2,465
40%
30% earn a maximum of €2,300
30%
20% earn a maximum of €2,137
10% earn a maximum of €1,945
20%
10%
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2. Managers of large enterprises earn 171% more than the national average
To a large degree, the size of the paycheck depends on the occupied function. Having large responsibilities
or difficult jobs results in a larger paycheck at the end of the month. Unsurprisingly, managers occupy the
top positions in the table below, which lists the 15 best-paid jobs. Especially remarkable are salaries of
managers of large enterprises, as their salaries are 171% above the national average.
The 15 best-paid jobs
1
2
Managing directors and chief executives
Information and communications technology service managers
(ICT)
3
Business services and administration managers
4
Professional services managers
5
Sales, marketing and research and development managers
6
Manufacturing, mining, construction and distribution managers
7
Mathematicians, actuaries and statisticians
8
Physicists, chemists and similar scientists
9
Retail and wholesale trade managers
10 Electrotechnology engineers
11 Accountants, financial analysts and investment advisers
12 Engineering professionals (excluding electrotechnology)
13 Policy administration and personnel and careers professionals
14 Legal professionals
15 Economists, sociologists, anthropologists, historians and
psychologists
National average
Average gross
monthly wages
% above the
national average
8,214 €
6,529 €
171.4%
115.7%
6,313 €
5,714 €
5,574 €
5,463 €
4,783 €
4,469 €
4,463 €
4,435 €
4,355 €
4,324 €
4,302 €
4,271 €
4,220 €
108.6%
88.8%
84.1%
80.5%
58.0%
47.6%
47.4%
46.5%
43.9%
42.9%
42.1%
41.1%
39.4%
3,027 €
-
Waiters, bartenders, hairdressers and beauticians are at the other side of the spectrum. With an average
monthly salary of € 2,002 these employees earn a salary that is 34% below the national average. They
have to work four months to reach the monthly salary of a manager of a large enterprise. Also the
remuneration of messengers, cleaners and helpers and cashiers is in general 30% below the national
average.
The 15 worst-paid jobs
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Waiters and bartenders
Hairdressers and beauticians
Messengers and meter readers
Cleaners and helpers
Cashiers and ticket clerks
Shop salespeople
Garment and related trades workers
Vehicle, window and laundry cleaning workers
Cooks
Wood treaters, cabinet-makers, woodworking-machine tool setters
and operators
11 Refuse workers
12 Jewellery workers, potters, glass makers and other handicraft
workers
13 Sales demonstrators, door-to-door salespersons, contact centre
salespersons
14 Food processing and related trades workers (e.g. butchers,
bakers,…)
15 Manufacturing labourers
National average
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Average gross
monthly wages
% below the
national average
2,002 €
2,002 €
2,055 €
2,086 €
2,106 €
2,174 €
2,208 €
2,227 €
2,243 €
2,265 €
33.9%
33.9%
32.1%
31.1%
30.4%
28.2%
27.1%
26.4%
25.9%
25.2%
2,280 €
2,282 €
24.7%
24.6%
2,309 €
23.7%
2,319 €
23.4%
2,361 €
3.027 €
22.0%
-
3. Hotels, restaurants and pubs catch up
Next to the occupation, the sector of work influences the size of the paycheck to a large extent. The table
below presents an overview of the ten sectors with the highest and lowest wages.
The ten best-paid sectors
Average gross
monthly wages
% above the
national average
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
4,624 €
3,921 €
3,890 €
3,859 €
3,853 €
3,799 €
3,787 €
3,773 €
52.8%
29.5%
28.5%
27.5%
27.3%
25.5%
25.1%
24.6%
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
3,707 €
3,649 €
Average gross monthly
wages
2,244 €
2,361 €
2,364 €
2,387 €
2,436 €
2,518 €
2,581 €
2,676 €
2,689 €
2,689 €
22.5%
20.6%
% below the national
average
25.9%
22.0%
21.9%
21.1%
19.5%
16.8%
14.7%
11.6%
11.2%
11.2%
3.027 €
-
Petrochemical industry
Research and development
Chemical industry
Financial institutions
Activities auxiliary to financial services and insurance
Electricity, gas, steam and hot water supply
Aviation
Manufacture of radio, television and communication
equipment
9
Computer and related activities
10 Insurance and pension funding
The ten worst-paid sectors
Hotels, restaurants and pubs
Manufacture of furniture
Retail trade
Recycling and ecosystem sector
Manufacture of wood
Manufacture of clothing and fur industry
Manufacture of textiles
Leather industry and manufacture of footwear
Construction
Manufacture of food products and beverages
National average
With an average salary of € 4,624, the petrochemical industry is the best-paid economic sector. Employees
in this sector make 53% more than the national average. Research and development and the chemical
industry complete the top-three of best-paid sectors.
The lowest wages are paid in hotels, restaurants and pubs, where the average salary is 26% below the
national average and is only half of the average monthly wages in the petrochemical industry. Also the
furniture manufacturing sector, retail trade and recycling and ecosystem sector have salaries that are 20%
below the national average.
The average wages in hotels, restaurants and pubs may be lowest, but with 47% this sector has seen the
highest pay increase of all economic sectors in terms of percentage in the last ten years. Employees in
energy companies on the other hand have seen the lowest pay increases in the last ten years.
The five sectors with the highest pay increases
1
2
3
4
5
Hotels, restaurants and pubs
Manufacture of clothing and fur industry
Retail trade
Recycling and ecosystem sector
Post and communications
% increase in the period 1999 - 2009
47.3%
42.6%
41.9%
41.3%
41.2%
The five sectors with the lowest pay increases
% increase in the period 1999 - 2009
1 Electricity, gas, steam and hot water supply
2 Manufacture of tobacco products
3 Waterway transport
4 Other business services
5 Manufacture of food products and beverages
National average
26.7%
26.7%
28.9%
29.9%
30.0%
35.3 %
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4. Commuting to Brussels pays
Not only the occupation and the economic sector influence salaries, also the place of work makes a
difference. The table below contains the five arrondissements that have the highest and lowest average
salaries.
The five arrondissements with the highest average
salaries
1
2
3
4
5
Average gross
monthly wages
% above the national average
3,493 €
3,184 €
3,151 €
3,133 €
3,119 €
15.4%
5.2%
4.1%
3.5%
3.0%
Average gross
monthly wages
% below the national average
2,292 €
2,405 €
2,428 €
2,434 €
2,450 €
3.027 €
24.3%
20.6%
19.8%
19.6%
19.1%
-
Brussels-Capital
Halle – Vilvoorde
Nivelles
Leuven
Antwerp
The five arrondissements with the lowest average
salaries
1 Dinant
2 Marche-en-Famenne
3 Veurne
4 Bastogne
5 Philippeville
National average
Brussels-Capital is by far the arrondissement with the highest wages and salaries. With average gross
monthly wages of € 3,493 employees in Brussels earn 15% more than the national average. The
surrounding arrondissements also pay relatively high salaries. Nivelles is the only Walloon arrondissement
with average salaries above the national figure.
Financially speaking the arrondissement of Dinant is the least interesting to work in, with salaries 24%
below the national average. In Flanders the lowest average salaries are paid in the arrondissement of
Veurne.
The five arrondissements with the highest pay increases
1
2
3
4
5
Ostend
Diksmuide
Eeklo
Tielt
Kortrijk
% increase in the period 1999 - 2009
43.6%
42.8%
42.1%
41.7%
41.0%
The five arrondissements with the lowest pay increases
1 Neufchâteau
2 Antwerp
3 Virton
4 Dinant
5 Arlon
National average
% increase in the period 1999 - 2009
26.2%
27.2%
27.6%
27.9%
28.4%
35.3%
Employees in the arrondissement of Ostend have seen the highest pay increases in terms of percentage in
the last ten years. With Diksmuide, Tielt and Kortrijk, the province of West Flanders has three more
arrondissements in this list. Brussels-Capital is in eighth position, while Ath has the highest relative pay
increase in the Walloon Region.
With 26% the arrondissement of Neufchâteau has seen the lowest pay increase since 1999.The province of
Luxembourg has two other arrondissements, Virton and Arlon, in this list. The average salaries in the
arrondissement of Antwerp are clearly above the national average, but the increase since 1999 in terms of
percentage is 8% below the overall trend.
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5. Young people sacrifice pay as a result of the economic crisis
The size of the paycheck obviously increases with age. The average wages of people under 20, for
example, are no less than 58% below the national average. The age of 37 is the turning point. People under
this age generally earn less than the national average, whereas older people are in theory entitled to a
higher salary. Paychecks of employees in the age group of 60 and older are 25% above the national
average.
4.250€
3.750€
3.250€
2.750€
2.250€
1.750€
<20
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
>= 60
Not only do young people receive the lowest salaries, they were also the biggest victims of the economic
and financial crisis. Whereas the average salary went up by 3.10% on a yearly basis, employees under 20
saw their salaries go down by 1.34%. In the age group of 20-24-year olds the nominal salary also came to a
standstill. As a result, 2009 was financially speaking a difficult year for starters.
Additional information
For additional information, please contact Freddy Verkruyssen, Head of Public Relations (tel +32 2 277 70
76, e-mail [email protected]).
Source
Source: Directorate General Statistics and Economic Information
More figures?
More data on salaries can be found on the website of Statistics Belgium.
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Our dynamic application allows you to compose your own tables for the years 1999 – 2009.
Average salaries can be calculated by reference year and region of work, but also by level of
education, occupation, sex, sector of work and seniority. Other features of this application are not
only average monthly wages, but also median wages, gross hourly wages and the corresponding
number of employees.
-
The tables in this press release present only a limited overview of the actual situation. If you wish to
see the full overview for all occupations, sectors and arrondissements, please click on the section
"downloadable tables".
-
These statistics are also used as primary source for the composition of the annual national pay gap
report. This publication elaborately discusses the different factors that influence the differences in
salaries between men and women and illustrates them with numerous tables and charts.
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