Hungary’s gross wages grow by 12.6 pc, but net wages stood at 725 euros!

The average gross monthly wage of full-time employees in Hungary stood at 340,600 forints (EUR 1,049) in April, up by an annual 12.6 percent, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Thursday.

Gross wage growth has been in the double digits since early last year, lifted by the minimum wage agreement and labour shortage.

The average monthly wage included about 35,700 forints in bonuses and benefits.

The average net monthly wage was 226,500 forints.

Real wage growth came to 10.1 percent, calculating with an April CPI of 2.3 percent.

Excluding some 119,000 Hungarians in fostered work programmes, gross wages rose by 11.6 percent to 353,700 forints (1091 euros), and net wages stood at 235,200 forints (725 euros).

Fostered workers earned a gross monthly 82,100 forints (253 euros) on average in April.

In the private sector, which includes state-owned companies, gross wages were up by 11.1 percent at 353,800 forints. In the public sector, gross wages climbed by 16.6 percent to 319,200 forints.

Hungarians working in industry earned a gross monthly 363,800 forints on average in April.

Construction workers earned 244,300 forints, those in the ICT sector made 592,800 forints and those in finance and insurance, 772,700 forints. In the education sector, the average wage was 318,900 forints, and it was 214,100 forints in health and social services.

LABOUR SHORTAGE SHOCKING IN HUNGARY

Commenting on the data, Finance Minister Mihály Varga told public television that the wage gap among sectors was narrowing in Hungary. Regional differences are also shrinking, he said. The driving force behind these trends is the 2016 wage agreement which ensured a minimum wage hike again in 2018, and left nearly 170 billion forints with employers, boosting investments, developments and wage raises, he said.

The government plans to cut the social contribution tax by 2 percentage points in 2019, he said.

The finance ministry said in a statement that real wages have been growing steadily for 64 months. The tax cuts will ease companies’ burdens by hundreds of billions of forints by 2022, it said. The ministry expects the two-digit wage growth to continue throughout 2018, the statement said.

Source: MTI