Are you below or above the average Belgian wage?

Belgian employees earn 3,401 euros per month on average (amount before tax). That's according to research carried out by the weekly Vacature and Leuven University. They also established which categories are paying the highest salaries, and which ones have the poorest pay. And... 3,400 euros before tax, how much of this actually ends up in your pockets?

The latest average wages are 4.3 percent or 140 euros up on 2014 (amounts before tax). This rise is the result of Belgium's automatic wage indexation system (aka the index system) under which pay is raised when life gets more expensive - in other words, when inflation has been up for some time, wages will follow.

However, the Michel-goverment skipped this mechanism once over the past years to save money and to give employers and businesses more breathing space. Others earned more because they were in the job for a long time. However, workers have hardly enjoyed pay rises given voluntarily by employers.

How much in your pocket?

Depending on your personal situation, 3,401 euros will leave you with between 2,074 and 2,204 net.

As many as 95 percent of Belgian employees are also enjoying fringe benefits. 3 in 4 employees receive a so-called 13th month pay or 13th salary. Over 40 percent has a company car. 65 percent enjoys a hospital insurance.

Banks, chemical and pharma sector paying well

Starting employers have to be content with 2,369 euros per month. The hospitality sector generally has poor pay, with 2,676 euros per month on average. The best paying categories (banks, chemical and pharmaceutical sector) will earn you 4,279 euros per month.

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