Hotel and catering staff are worst-paid workers in Belgium

Belgian residents working in the hotel and catering industries are among be the worst-paid workers in the country, according to a survey of 130,000 workers across all sectors conducted by statistics office Statbel.

By contrast, people employed in the petrochemical sector were generally the best-paid people in Belgium, the latest figures reveal.

The average net income of a full-time worker in Belgium was around €2,500 a month in 2020, with a gross monthly salary of €3,832.

The survey found that 69% of workers earn between €2,000 and €4,250 gross per month, with one in 10 employees earning less than €2,334 gross per month.

Hotel and catering workers made 36% less than the national average. General managers, on the other hand, made 80% more than the average worker.

People working in Brussels are generally more likely to earn more than in other parts of the country, with Luxembourg province in particular reporting the lowest wages country-wide.

Access to higher education also proved a decisive factor – workers with a master’s degree or higher earned on average almost half again as much as the average Belgian employee.

The five highest-paid jobs were all managerial positions, with general managers being followed by managers working in information and communication technologies, administrative services, sales, marketing, public relations and research and development and managers in the manufacturing and construction industries.