Looking for a job in the EU? Here are the countries with the highest wages and best opportunities

There are around 4 million (3.7 million according to World Bank data) Romanians working outside the country, mainly in European Union countries, where they are allowed to find jobs legally. But working abroad and sending home EUR 4.94 billion (as of 2017, World Bank data) is not always a walk in the park and emigrants are always trying to find the best paying jobs. BR looked at data to find the EU countries with the highest wages and low unemployment rates in order to find out where one can find a good job.

Italy and Spain

The country with the most Romanian workers is Italy, where 1.02 million are registered, according to the World Bank. The language similarity and cultural proximity makes Italy an obvious choice for many Romanians. Unfortunately, though, the Italian economy is not doing so great. As of September 2018, the unemployment rate in Italy was 10.1 percent (more than double the one in Romania), according to Eurostat.

But Italy ranks 12th among the 28 member states of the EU for average monthly wage, with a gross income of EUR 2,534 and a net of EUR 1,762 (30.6 percent taxes). In Italy there is no minimum wage set by the state, so there isn’t any official data on this topic.

On the second place is Spain, with 640,000 registered Romanians working there. The country’s economy is not doing any better than Italy’s, but it displays the same advantages for Romanian workers. The unemployment rate in Spain is even higher, at 14.9 percent, and it ranks 13th by average salary with a gross value of EUR 2,189 and a net of EUR 1,749 (taxes are only 20.1 percent). The minimum wage in Spain is EUR 859 in gross value and EUR 733 in net value (with 14.67 percent taxes).

Germany and UK still looking for workers

It is clear that there aren’t that many opportunities for Romanians in the two countries we discussed above. The next one on the list is Germany, which has around 533,000 Romanian emigrants, and the number may grow since there are so many jobs available to them.

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Germany has one the lowest unemployment rates in EU, with 3.4 percent in September 2018. Of course, the country isn’t similar to Italy or Spain, as the language is quite difficult to learn and it can be just as difficult for some to embrace the German culture.

But the German economy is still growing as it is the strongest in EU and it has an average wage of EUR 3,703 in gross value and EUR 2,270 in net value (38.7 percent taxes). The minimum wage is EUR 1,498 in gross value and EUR 1.102 in net (26.44 percent taxes). It is no surprise that many Romanians are trying to learn German and find a place in the country.

The United Kingdom is the next country in Europe with the most Romanian immigrants, with a total of around 340,000 working there. With a low unemployment of 4 percent and an average salary of EUR 2,498 in gross value and a net of EUR 1,990 (20.34 percent in taxes), the UK is a good place to find a job.

It is also favored by the English language, which most Romanians learn in school, and the culture is also quite easy to adapt to. And while the UK ranks on the 10 place for average wages, its minimum wage ranks 7th, with EUR 1,395 in gross value and EUR 1,236 in net value (taxes on it are only 11.4 percent). But Brexit might be a problem for those trying to find a job in the UK from now on, as immigration and work rights rules are to soon change.

Austria and Nordic countries

Other Western European countries with low unemployment rates are the Netherlands (3.7 percent), Denmark (4.8 percent), Austria (4.9 percent) and Luxembourg (5 percent). The Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Malta and Romania also have unemployment rates lower than 5 percent, but also significantly lower wages.

The Netherlands have an average salary of EUR 2,855 in gross value and EUR 2,155 in net value (24.52 percent in taxes). For the minimum wage, the country ranks second among the 22 EU countries that have an established minimum wage, with EUR 1,578 in gross value and EUR 1,430 in net value (only 9.38 percent in taxes). And even if the language is one of the most difficult to learn, the Dutch speak very good English so foreigners have no trouble communicating if they don’t speak the official language.

Denmark holds the first place on the income scale with an average salary of EUR 5,191 in gross value and EUR 3,270 in net value (37.01 percent in taxes). There is no minimum wage set and most people speak English as a second language.

Austria is a Central European country that’s close to Romania, but the numbers and its history is place it among the most highly developed Western states. It doesn’t have a set minimum wage, but the average salary places it on the 6th place in the EU28. The gross value is EUR 3,632 and the net is EUR 2,324 (36.01 percent in taxes). A good place for those who learn German, but also for English speakers, even if the country is not as big as the ones we’ve already mentioned.

Exceptions in the EU

Luxembourg is one of the richest countries in Europe, but it is as big as the Romanian city of Constanta, with a total population of just 590,667. It is no surprise that there are not too many emigrants in the country even if it has an average salary of EUR 4,412 in gross value and EUR 3,159 in net value (28.4 percent in taxes), with no set minimum wage.

Switzerland, which will end all restrictions for Romanian workers starting May 2019, is also not a very good place for foreigners to easily find a job. Their Direct Democracy system allows the inhabitants of a city to deny a foreign citizen the right to settle if he or she does not adapt well to the culture of the place.