The national minimum wage has been increased to €158.11 a week – €7,589 a year, €632.44 a month, €31.62, a day, or €3.95 an hour - by virtue of a legal notice published on Friday.

The rise equates to an increase of €4.66 per week in reflection of the cost of living adjustment stipulated in this year’s budget.

The national minimum wage for 17-year-olds has been set for 2012 at €151.33 and for under 17s at €148.49, while the national minimum wage for part-time employees is calculated pro rata on the same hourly wage as full time employees.

Over the last 19 years, the national minimum wage has increased by 85 per cent – from €85.32 per week for over 17s to today’s €158.11 a week.

20 of the EU’s 27 Member States (Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom) have national legislation setting a minimum wage.

Out of these 20 countries, Malta’s minimum wage is the tenth-highest.