Has the wage gap between the capital and the countryside declined in Hungary?

In recent years, the wage gap between salaries has been widening progressively. However, for the first time in years, net earnings have reached the national average in not one, but two counties, although this also required wage dynamics in the capital to slow down.

Figures from the Central Statistical Office (KSH) showed that in Budapest, the average monthly wage of those employed full-time was HUF 467,286 (EUR 1,203), in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, one of the poorest counties in the country, it was only HUF 271,320 (EUR 699) in 2023, which is almost HUF 200,000 less, as there is still a big gap in salaries in Hungary, Világgazdaság reports.

Salaries in the capital have been growing below the national average for a long time. In addition to Budapest, earnings reached the national average in Győr-Moson-Sopron county and Komárom-Esztergom county for the first time in years. 17 counties didn’t reach the national average, which was HUF 379,836 (EUR 998), as Békés, Nógrád and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg couldn’t even reach HUF 300,000 (EUR 772).

Wages of manual workers have increased

Workers at the new production line of Nagyhegyesi Takarmány Ltd. in Nagyhegyes on the day of its inauguration on 18 May 2023. Source: MTI/Czeglédi Zsolt

As Portfolio recently wrote, the average hourly wages of manual workers increased by almost 20% in Hungary. The average hourly wages of manual workers ranged from HUF 1,700 (EUR 4.4) to HUF 1,900 (EUR 4.9) at the end of 2023, according to Trenkwalder’s data. There was also a smaller gap between the salaries in a geographical comparison, only those living in Budapest and Central Hungary earn more, in the other regions of the country, the salaries are more balanced.

Viktor Hamrák, Trankwalder’s director of services, stated that the increase in the national minimum wage played a large role in this trend, as the wage increases usually start in January, not in December. He also claimed that as inflation rose by only 5.5% in December compared to the level of a year earlier, it can be stated that real wages are back on the growth track after the decline experienced in 2023.

Győr-Moson-Sopron takes the lead in the countryside

Source: depositphotos.com

It doesn’t come as a surprise that Győr-Moson-Sopron, the most industrialised county follows Budapest regarding wages. Out of every county, working in the manufacturing industry pays off the most here, as the average net earning in the sector was HUF 524,182 (EUR 1,348) last year, mostly due to Audi’s influence.

Following Győr-Moson Sopron, Komárom-Esztergom county had an average net earning of HUF 379,872 (EUR 977),  in 2023, which was also boosted by the higher wages of the manufacturing industry. The third place of Fejér county is not surprising either with an average of HUF 370,807 (EUR 953), as the communication and information sector has much higher wages in the county, approximately an average of HUF 565,527 (EUR 1,455).

Although wage dynamics did not keep up with the inflation, it is positive to see that wages have increased everywhere. Besides the capital, the rate of increase was the smallest in the counties of Nógrád, Tolna and Zala (12.9 and 13.2–13.4%). According to KSH, there was also a significant increase in wages in the counties of Pest, Hajdú-Bihar and Komárom-Esztergom (by 15.9, 15.8 and 15.2%).

Read also:

• Have the wages of manual workers skyrocketed in Hungary? – Read more here
• Do Hungarians really earn this much?