Approved by Government: minimum wage to increase to 6,300 lei as of 1 January

The minimum salary will be increased by 15 percent starting 1 January 2026, and will amount to 6,300 lei. A draft to this effect was approved today by the Government.

Thus, the minimum wage will be 6,300 lei per month for a full work schedule of 169 hours (on average per month), which represents 37.28 lei per hour. If the work schedule is, according to the law, less than 40 hours per week, the hourly minimum wage is calculated by relating the monthly minimum wage to the average number of hours per month, according to the approved legal work schedule.

Minister of Labor and Social Protection Natalia Plugaru stated at the cabinet meeting that the evolution of the minimum wage in recent years shows a constant increase.


“If in the year 2021 the minimum wage was only 2,935 lei, by 2026 we have managed to gradually increase it to 6,300, which means more than doubling it. Of course, we want an even higher salary and we will do this gradually every year” said Natalia Plugaru.


According to the project, the increase in the amount of the national minimum wage arises from the need to ensure a continuous increase in minimum guarantees in the field of wages, as well as to maintain the purchasing power of the workforce.


“The presented graphs speak better than any statement about how wages have increased over the years, both the minimum and the average. We will certainly do even more,” said Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu.


In 2025, the minimum wage was 5,500 lei.

The minimum wage represents the minimum amount of remuneration, in lei, set by the state for simple, unskilled work, below which the employer is not entitled to pay for the work standard per month or per hour, fulfilled by the employee.