The job search rules are changing in the EU: candidates must know the starting salary or its range before employment. The most notable results came from Italy, where the proportion of job vacancies listing salaries rose from 26% to 61% within a year. This is important for Ukrainians amid a significant salary gap with Europe. This was reported by Euronews.
Which European Countries Already List Salaries in Job Advertisements
The EU directive on pay transparency was supposed to be transposed into the national legislation of member countries by June 7, 2026. However, most states did not meet the deadline.
According to data provided by Euronews, among large European economies, Italy has shown the most progress. In July 2025, salaries were listed in only 26% of job vacancies on Indeed, but a year later, that figure reached 61%.
Italy has even surpassed the United Kingdom for the first time, where salary information is included in 60% of job advertisements. The Netherlands follows with 49.5%, and France with 43%.
The least transparent among large markets remain Spain and Germany. Salaries are mentioned in only 18% and 14% of job vacancies, respectively.
«Italy is becoming a leader in pay transparency among major European economies, and the data shows that regulations truly have a significant impact,» said Pavel Adrian, director of economic research at Indeed.
Germany has postponed the implementation of relevant rules until the beginning of 2027. At the same time, the country remains one of the largest labor markets in Europe, and actual salaries in Germany largely depend on profession, experience, and language skills.
What the EU Salary Transparency Directive Changes
Italy has gone beyond the minimum requirements of the directive. Employers must specify the starting salary or its range directly in the advertisement, rather than disclosing the amount to candidates only at one of the selection stages.
«The share of Italian vacancies with specified salaries increased from 35% in January to 61% in July, accelerating after the June implementation of the EU pay transparency directive,» noted Adrian.
The new rules are intended not only to simplify job searching. The European Commission views salary transparency as one of the tools to combat discrimination and unjustified wage disparities in equal or equivalent work.
According to Eurostat, in 2024, the gender pay gap in the EU was 11.1%. This means that, on average, women earned 11.1% less than men. Research by the European Trade Union Confederation estimates the total losses for working women due to this gap at €358 billion per year.
At the same time, a rapid transition of all vacancies to full transparency should not be expected. Some professions may have exceptions, and many EU states have not yet completed the transposition of the directive into their legislation.
Earlier, Inkorr reported on the gender pay gap in Ukraine, where the average incomes of women in the first quarter of 2026 were 27% lower than those of men.