Trend change: salaries are higher even in Romania than in Hungary
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Based on 2022 data, Hungary is among the lowest-income EU countries, and a significant fallback happened last year. Furthermore, high inflation reduces real wages. According to the president of the employers’ union, wages can only increase considerably if the efficiency of the companies improves.
Based on the data of the EU’s statistical office, the minimum wage is the third lowest in the EU. Only Bulgaria and Latvia follow the Hungarian minimum salary. Borbála Buzás, a journalist for Pénzcentrum, added that our salary is worth much less in Hungary because of the soaring inflation. That is why people started to buy things abroad.
In 2019, the Hungarian minimum wage was EUR 20 more than in Romania, and last December, the Romanians could take home EUR 12 more. Meanwhile, people not having children earn the EU’s third less, while their salaries would be higher in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, even Slovenia.
Ferenc Rolek, the chairman of the Hungarian employers’ union, said salaries might rise in Hungary if companies can improve their efficacy. That means additional automation and higher qualified, experienced employees.
