Students working under the blue-collar status earn €1.70 more per hour on average than those under the white-collar status, according to a study released on Saturday by human resources services provider Securex.
The highest earnings were found in the construction sector, where students earned €18.05 per hour. Sectors employing primarily blue-collar student profiles offered an average of €14.91 per hour, compared with €13.21 per hour for white-collar student workers.
Wages for blue-collar students increased more significantly this year, rising by 2.83% (€0.41) compared to 1.23% (€0.16) for their white-collar counterparts.
The three most lucrative sectors for student workers were construction (€18.05/hour), cleaning and disinfection (€16.69/hour), and metallurgy-mechanical and electrical construction (€16.31/hour).
At the other end of the spectrum, the least-paying sectors were independent retail (€11.95/hour), food retail (€11.94/hour), and tourist attractions (€11.65/hour).
Last year, the average hourly wage for student workers rose by 2.38%, aligning with salary indexation, and reached €14.21. Hourly wages increase as students age, with 15-year-olds earning €11.24 per hour on average compared to €14.81 for those aged 21 to 24.
The analysis was conducted using data from Securex’s client portfolio, encompassing 386,985 student worker contracts from 7,653 employers. It includes only private-sector student contracts and excludes those arranged via temporary work agencies.
