THE HIGHEST paid salaried employees in Portugal have seen their salaries triple in the past 10 years compared to average salaries.
Representing around 10 per cent of the total workforce, the latest figures released from the National Statistics Institute (Instituto Nacional de Estatística) on behalf of its Employment Department show that, overall, the disparity between high earners and average earners has remained fairly static.
According to the INE’s research, 50 per cent of the working population receive on average 560 euros net per month while the 10 per cent lowest wage earners in Portugal receive only 380 Euros a month.
The contrast between salaries, however, shows that the gulf between the rich and poor has, in real terms, widened since 1998.
In salary terms, one doesn’t have to earn a fortune to be considered affluent in Portugal today. In order to be included in the top 10 per cent of the richest employees one only has to earn 1,224 Euros per month (245 contos).
At the other extreme of the scale, 10 per cent of the salaried working population only receives 380 euros a month, or 3.2 times less than the top 10 per cent.
In general, the middle class that work for third parties is neither richer nor poorer than it was in 1998 according to the statistics.
The worst salaries were to be found in the north of Portugal where 4.9 per cent of employees earn less than 310 euros, 4.1 per cent earn the same in the centre of Portugal, 3.1 per cent in Lisbon, three per cent in the Alentejo, and 2.4 per cent in the Algarve.
In all regions in Portugal (except Lisbon and the Tejo Valley) 53 per cent of employees earn between 310 euros and 600 euros, while in the Algarve, Alentejo and Centre of Portugal the percentage falls to 44, 46 and 38 respectively.
The average salary now in Portugal is 712 euros a month with a half of all employees earning 560 euros a month after taxes and deductions.
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