Kosovo raises minimum wage to €500

Kosovo’s minimum wage has risen to €500 a month, in a move the acting prime minister says will benefit about 150,000 private-sector workers.

The new rate took effect on 1 July and applies to workers with employment contracts.

Acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti said it was the fourth minimum wage increase under his government.

The minimum wage had stayed at €130 or €170, depending on age, for more than a decade before being raised in stages to €250, €350, €425 and now €500.

Kosovo’s statistics agency says the private sector employs about 320,000 workers, while the public sector has around 80,000.