🇱🇹Who lives well in Lithuania: who benefits — and who remains on minimum wage
Lithuania reports the highest average wages in the Baltic region, with gross earnings reaching €2,527 in Q4 2025. But October data suggest that this growth reflects expansion in specific segments rather than a uniform increase across the labour market.
Data card — Lithuania wages (Q4 2025 / Oct 2025)
• Average wage (Q4 2025): €2,527
• Employees at MMW or below: 115.5K (9.5%)
• Part-time employees in this group: ~93K
• Full-time at MMW: 2%
The key distinction is not the level of wages, but how they are distributed. The lowest-income segment is largely concentrated in part-time employment, while full-time jobs are less exposed to minimum wage levels.
Data card — Structure by business size
• Small enterprises (1–9 employees): 9.3% at MMW
• Large enterprises (1000+): 0.4% at MMW
This gap points to a structural divide inside the economy. Larger firms and core sectors are driving wage growth, while small businesses remain constrained and more dependent on minimum-wage labour.
A similar pattern appears across age groups: both younger and older workers are overrepresented at the lower end of the wage distribution, indicating weaker positions at the entry and exit points of the labour market.
Lithuania’s wage dynamics therefore reflect segmentation rather than convergence. Average income is rising, but the structure of the labour market remains uneven — with growth concentrated in its central and upper layers.BSM © 2026
Image: photos/photo_221@18-03-2026_17-42-48.jpg