Hungary gross wages in March up 11.3 pc

The average gross monthly wage of full-time employees in Hungary increased by an annual 11.3 percent to 331,500 (EUR 1,042) in March, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Wednesday.

The average monthly net wage climbed at the same pace, to 220,500 forints.

Calculating with an annualised CPI of 2 percent in March, real wages rose by 9.1 percent.

The average gross monthly wage in the private sector grew by 8.6 percent, to 342,400 forints. In the public sector, it jumped by 19.3 percent to 313,700 forints.

Péter Benő Bánai, state secretary of the finance ministry, told public television after the data release that if the economy managed to produce growth of above 4 percent in the coming few years, then wages were likely to continue rising.

He noted that since 2013, the Hungarian economy had expanded at a faster clip than the European Union average. Last year the economy grew by an annual 4 percent, and this was likely to be exceeded this year, he said, citing a ministry forecast.

Bánai also said that wage growth was balanced across the regions, and gross wages had seen double-digit rises in every county.

Across sectors, however, there were marked differences, with wages in health care outpacing other areas.

In a statement, the Finance Ministry said that the average wage had increased by above 20 percent, combining last year’s annual data and this year’s first quarter. This development has helped to narrow the gap with average European wages, it added.

ING Bank chief analyst Péter Virovácz said the headline rise in gross wages was slightly below the consensus forecast of 11.7 percent. However, the public sector outperformed, supported by a big increase in bonuses, he added.

Public sector bonuses came to 25,800 forints in March, up from 4,500 in the same month a year earlier, the data show.

Virovácz noted that employment numbers on the primary labour market had increased by 124,000 in a year, while the number of Hungarians in fostered work programmes had dropped by 17,000.

Takarékbank analyst András Horváth said the big increase in public sector bonuses may be linked to performance-based premiums awarded to those administering payouts of European Union funding. Takarékbank forecast wage growth for the full year of around 10.5 percent.

Source: MTI