Data as of 5 November 2026. How we collect and count jobs: methodology.
Five months after 7 June 2026, the deadline for EU countries to write the pay transparency directive into national law, a salary is still the exception in EU remote job ads. In July to September 2026, the first full quarter after the deadline, 21.2% of remote and hybrid job ads open to the EU showed a salary (n = 3,702). For job ads open only to the United States it was 69.7% (n = 16,185). An EU job ad showed pay less than a third as often as a US-only one. In this report, “remote job ads” means ads our system tagged as remote or hybrid; remote-only ads open to the EU showed pay more often, 28.3% in July to September 2026 (n = 2,454).
In March to May, before the deadline, 17.9% of EU job ads (n = 14,797) and 73.7% of US-only job ads (n = 42,447) showed pay. The EU share edged up, but the rise is small and most of it comes from a change in our own sample. On 22 June we tightened the rule that decides whether a job ad counts as remote or hybrid, and hybrid ads, which in the EU show pay less often, fell from 57.7% to 32.8% of the EU sample. US-only fell from 73.7% to 69.7%. Part of that is the same change working the other way, since in March to May US-only hybrid ads showed pay more often than remote ones (76.7% against 68.5%), and part is a fall within US-only hybrid ads, from 76.7% to 69.0% (n = 21,692 and 3,479). Across every job we classified, the EU rise was smaller, from 16.7% to 18.4% (n = 17,086 and 14,641), and US-only held at 71.7% and 71.5%. The data can’t show that the directive caused any of this, and the directive does not require pay in the ad.
Key numbers
Share of job ads that show a salary.
| Group | Mar to May 2026 | Jul to Sep 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Open to the EU, remote or hybrid | 17.9% (n = 14,797) | 21.2% (n = 3,702) |
| Open to the EU, every classified job | 16.7% (n = 17,086) | 18.4% (n = 14,641) |
| US-only, remote or hybrid | 73.7% (n = 42,447) | 69.7% (n = 16,185) |
| US-only, every classified job | 71.7% (n = 52,738) | 71.5% (n = 47,500) |
| Worldwide, remote or hybrid | 44.7% (n = 8,010) | 50.5% (n = 9,810) |
The remote and hybrid sample covers 139,695 job ads across the two windows, including 18,499 open to EU countries and 58,632 open only to the United States. Our database holds about 4.3 million jobs collected since September 2023, as of 2 November 2026.
The gap
Share of job ads that show a salary, Mar to May vs Jul to Sep 2026, open to the EU and US-only. n in the table above. Source: Remote First Jobs, company career pages, data as of 5 Nov 2026.
In July to September the US-only share was 48.5 points above the EU share. Across every classified job the gap was slightly wider, 71.5% against 18.4%.
Week by week
changes, 8–22 Jun Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
Weekly share of remote and hybrid job ads that show a salary, open to the EU vs US-only, 30 full weeks from 2 March to 27 September 2026; the partial weeks of 23 Feb and 28 Sep are left out. The line marks the 7 June deadline, the shaded band our data collection changes of 8 to 22 June. Data as of 5 Nov 2026.
In each of the 30 full weeks from 2 March to 27 September, the EU share stayed below 30% and the US-only share above 50%.
In March to May (the weeks starting 2 March to 25 May), the EU share moved between 12.9% and 20.4% a week, on 965 to 1,383 job ads a week. In July to September (the weeks starting 6 July to 21 September), it moved between 11.2% and 28.5%, on 233 to 354 job ads a week. With samples that small, single weeks swing more, and we don’t read anything into them. The week of 1 June, which ended on the deadline, was our highest EU week from March to mid-July, 22.6% (n = 1,107). The next week was back at 17.6% (n = 955), and through mid-July the weekly share stayed between 17.6% and 20.8%, so we see no lasting step after the deadline. US-only moved between 69.1% and 79.3% a week in March to May and between 53.0% and 76.5% in July to September, with its two lowest weeks in August.
Our data collection changed three times in June: a new location parser on 8 June, a rules engine for salaries in place of a language model on 15 June, and the stricter remote/hybrid rule on 22 June. The EU share shows no step at any of them, but the sample does: in the week of 22 June the weekly EU sample fell from 1,024 to 388 job ads.
Why we don’t call the EU rise a finding
Hybrid-only ads were 57.7% of the EU sample in March to May and 32.8% in July to September, while remote-only ads went from 38.5% to 66.3%. In the EU, remote-only ads show pay about three times as often as hybrid-only ones (30.6% against 10.0% before the deadline).
One employer that posts hourly-pay roles across many EU countries skews the remote-only figures. Before 22 June its job ads were 700 of the 14,797 in the EU sample and about a third of the EU remote-only ads with pay; after the rule change, 49 were left. With that employer counted, the EU remote-only share went from 30.6% to 28.3% (n = 5,694 and 2,454). Without it, the share rose from 22.4% to 26.8% (n = 4,994 and 2,405), and counting annual salaries only, with every employer, from 19.1% to 24.7%. Hybrid-only ads went from 10.0% to 7.2% (n = 8,532 and 1,213). So most of the overall rise comes from the shift toward fully remote ads after 22 June.
The size of the change also depends on how we count: +1.7 points across every classified job, +3.2 for job ads naming an EU country, +5.5 counting annual salaries only (13.3% to 18.7%) and +5.8 without that one hourly-pay employer (14.4% to 20.2%, n = 14,097 and 3,653). In July to September every one of these counts puts the level at about one EU job ad in five, from 18.4% to 20.5%.
The same change runs the other way in US-only ads. There, hybrid-only ads showed pay more often than remote-only ones in March to May (76.7% against 68.5%, n = 21,692 and 17,633), and their share of the US-only sample fell from 51.1% to 21.5%. The new mix alone, at March to May shares, would take the US-only share down by 3.2 points; the total fall was 4.0. The share within US-only hybrid ads also fell, from 76.7% to 69.0% (n = 21,692 and 3,479). Without its largest employer with pay, US-only went from 72.4% to 68.7% (n = 40,067 and 15,654), so the fall doesn’t come from one company.
One check doesn’t depend on our remote/hybrid rule: job ads whose own job board field says remote. In US-only ads the share rose by 5.5 points (60.8% to 66.3%, n = 7,787 and 7,174). In the EU it rose by 1.9 points (31.0% to 32.9%, n = 3,076 and 2,567), but about two thirds of those EU ads with pay come from the same hourly-pay employer; without them, the EU share went from 13.9% to 14.4% (n = 2,373 and 1,949). Our salary engine also changed on 15 June, so we can’t tell how much of these changes comes from employers.
Countries
These are the EU countries with at least 30 remote or hybrid job ads with pay in each window. Four more countries are left out while we check their source data.
| Country | Mar to May 2026 | Jul to Sep 2026 | Ads with pay (Mar to May / Jul to Sep) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 12.6% (n = 294) | 42.5% (n = 87) | 37 / 37 |
| Spain | 14.3% (n = 1,605) | 30.4% (n = 385) | 230 / 117 |
| Poland | 25.8% (n = 1,526) | 25.8% (n = 430) | 393 / 111 |
| France | 17.6% (n = 954) | 24.6% (n = 175) | 168 / 43 |
| Ireland | 18.2% (n = 1,048) | 22.5% (n = 285) | 191 / 64 |
| Portugal | 11.9% (n = 1,075) | 19.0% (n = 326) | 128 / 62 |
| Germany | 9.8% (n = 2,369) | 17.5% (n = 623) | 233 / 109 |
Share of remote and hybrid job ads that show a salary by EU country, Mar to May vs Jul to Sep 2026. Data as of 5 Nov 2026.
In July to September the share ran from 17.5% in Germany (n = 623) to 42.5% in Sweden (n = 87), all well below the 69.7% for US-only job ads. Poland stayed at 25.8% (n = 1,526 and 430). Sweden’s figure rests on 37 job ads with pay in each window, and Sweden has not yet written the directive into national law, so we don’t read its rise as a response to it.
Italy, Cyprus, Estonia, Bulgaria, Finland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Greece, Austria and Lithuania have at least 30 job ads in both windows but fewer than 30 with pay in at least one, too few to compare.
The 22 June rule change touches countries too. Across every classified job, Poland went from 24.9% to 20.2% (n = 1,713 and 1,522) and Spain from 13.1% to 18.8% (n = 1,909 and 1,785). A job ad open to several countries counts in each.
What the ads show when they show pay
In July to September, EU remote and hybrid job ads with an annual salary had a median minimum of 76,548 US dollars and a median maximum of 104,650 (n = 694); US-only job ads had 120,000 and 151,150 dollars (n = 9,954). This is a snapshot: the changes to the sample and to the salary engine move medians too much to compare them with March to May.
What the directive requires
Directive (EU) 2023/970, Article 5(1), gives job applicants the right to receive information about the initial pay or its range, “such as in a published job vacancy notice, prior to the job interview or otherwise”. The ad is one option among several. The Commission puts it as the vacancy notice or ahead of the interview. Article 5(2) bars employers from asking about pay history.
Countries had to write the directive into national law by 7 June 2026, per the Commission. Only Slovakia, Italy, Lithuania and Malta did so in full by then, and Greece followed, according to Legal 500 and the Linklaters tracker.
Status on 2 November 2026:
| Country | Status | Pay in the ad required? |
|---|---|---|
| Poland | Partial law since 24 Dec 2025 | No, the ad is one of three options |
| France | Bill in the Senate | Proposed |
| Ireland | General Scheme only | Proposed |
| Netherlands | Bill in parliament | No |
| Bulgaria | Government bill | No |
| Spain | Partial draft decree | No |
| Portugal | Partial draft | No |
| Germany | No draft published (government reply, July 2026) | No |
Some countries required a pay figure in the ad before the directive: Austria since 2011 (the collectively agreed minimum), Slovakia since 2018 (the base pay component), Latvia since 2018 and Lithuania since 2019.
Why the US is different
The US has no federal rule, but several states require a pay range in the ad. Colorado has since 2021, including remote jobs. California, Washington and New York followed in 2023 and Illinois in 2025, along with four more states.
Many US remote jobs have been under these laws for years, so our US-only group is a market that already has rules, while most EU countries are still writing theirs. Indeed Hiring Lab data (CC BY 4.0) shows an almost flat line for all US job ads, 50.0% to 51.6% over the same months.
What it means for job seekers
About four in five EU remote and hybrid job ads still show no pay (21.2% do, n = 3,702), so ask for the range before the interview. Where the new rules are in force, as in Poland since 24 December 2025, you have a right to the range before the interview or the contract, and the employer may not ask about your past pay.
Your odds depend on the country. In July to September, 17.5% of job ads open to Germany showed pay (n = 623), 25.8% in Poland (n = 430) and 30.4% in Spain (n = 385).
What it means for employers
In EU remote hiring, about four in five job ads still show no salary. In US-only remote hiring, about seven in ten show one.
More rules are coming. France’s bill would ban public job ads without a range, and Ireland’s draft outline, as reported, would require pay in the ad. These rules bind an employer hiring in that country, which for a remote job may not be the place named in the ad, so check with a local employment lawyer.
How this compares with other studies
TalentUp and Esperta Pay counted 1,194,497 job ads across the EU-27. Their share with pay rose from 10.5% in May to 22.8% in August 2026. Their August level is close to our 21.2%, but their rise is far larger than ours, and our weekly series shows no lasting step after the deadline. They count all job ads; we count remote and hybrid ones.
Indeed Hiring Lab data, across all job ads, shows no step around the deadline in Germany or Ireland: over the same months Germany went from 13.5% to 14.2% and Ireland from 37.2% to 38.6%. France rose from 38.6% to 44.8%, back to about its level of a year earlier (44.7% in July to September 2025). In Italy the share went from 35% in January to 61% in July, Indeed told Euronews. Indeed counts all job ads on its own site and we count remote and hybrid ones, so levels differ between the two sources. Our Germany figure rose from 9.8% to 17.5% (n = 2,369 and 623), but across every classified job only from 9.4% to 12.7% (n = 2,749 and 2,400).
RemNavi, via Remote Work Europe, found pay in 8.3% of EU remote listings (n = 747) against 38.9% in the US (n = 4,001), as of 14 August 2026. Their levels are lower than ours, but the gap runs the same way. Theirs is a snapshot of live listings from 16 sources; ours compares two windows of job ads from company career pages.
Method and limits
We count job ads our collector found on company career pages and marked as remote or hybrid. It skips ads whose title, location and description never mention remote or hybrid work, about 70% of what it crawls, and ads it doesn’t read as real job ads. “Every classified job” means every ad that passed those checks and was read for a salary, however it was then marked. When this report says “remote job ads”, it means these remote and hybrid ads.
The windows are 1 March to 31 May and 1 July to 30 September 2026, 92 days each; we left out June as the transition month. “Open to the EU” means an EU-27 country or a Europe or EMEA region. “US-only” means every location is in the United States. “Worldwide” means the job ad names no location. A job ad shows a salary if it has a non-zero minimum or maximum, hourly pay included. Counting annual salaries alone, the EU share went from 13.3% to 18.7%.
Our data collection changed three times in June: a new location parser from 8 June, a rules engine for salaries in place of a language model from 15 June, and from 22 June a stricter rule that accepts remote or hybrid only from the title, the location or a few strict phrases in the description. The last change cut the sample: remote or hybrid ads were 24.7% of all crawled jobs in March to May and 10.2% in July to September, and hybrid ads fell most. Any comparison across the deadline mixes these changes with whatever employers did.
In a hand check of 40 job ads, the salary matched in 39, and none of the 19 stored salaries was false; 34 of the 40 said remote or hybrid, 1 was on-site and 5 were unclear. We give medians only where at least 30 job ads carry a salary, and ads with several pay ranges count by the first. Full method: remotefirstjobs.com/methodology.
How to cite
Remote First Jobs, Remote Jobs Report: Pay in EU and US remote job ads after the EU pay transparency deadline, November 2026. Data as of 5 November 2026. https://remotefirstjobs.com/blog/eu-pay-transparency-directive-remote-jobs
Suggested sentence: In July to September 2026, 21.2% of remote and hybrid job ads open to the EU showed a salary (n = 3,702), against 69.7% of US-only job ads (n = 16,185), according to Remote First Jobs data as of 5 November 2026.
FAQ
Does the EU pay transparency directive require salaries in job ads?
No. Article 5(1) gives applicants a right to information about the initial pay or range, and the ad is one way to give it, next to “prior to the job interview or otherwise”. Austria, Slovakia, Latvia and Lithuania have older national rules that require a pay figure in the ad.
What share of EU remote job ads show a salary?
In July to September 2026, 21.2% of remote and hybrid job ads open to the EU showed a salary (n = 3,702), against 69.7% of US-only job ads (n = 16,185). Data as of 5 November 2026.
Did more job ads in Europe show salaries after the June 2026 deadline?
Slightly, and how much depends on how we count: 17.9% (n = 14,797) to 21.2% (n = 3,702) in remote and hybrid job ads open to the EU, 16.7% to 18.4% across every job we classified. Most of the rise in the first count comes from a change in our sample on 22 June: a stricter rule left fewer hybrid ads, which in the EU show pay less often, so fully remote ads became a bigger part of the sample. Our salary engine also changed in June, so we can’t tell how much of any rise is employers. Indeed’s data, across all job ads, shows no step in Germany or Ireland, and France rose back to about its level of a year earlier.
Why do US remote job ads show pay more often than EU ones?
Several US states, starting with Colorado in 2021, require a range in the ad. The US-only share was near 70% in both windows: 73.7% (n = 42,447), then 69.7% (n = 16,185).
Can an employer in the EU ask about my current salary?
Article 5(2) of the directive says no. It binds employers once a country writes it into national law, as Poland did from 24 December 2025 and Slovakia from 7 June 2026.
