Wages in Romania's private sector to ease at +6% y/y - PwC PayWell report

Romania's average wages in the private sector are expected to rise by only 6% y/y in 2026, after the 7.5% y/y advance this year and 10.4% y/y in 2024, according to the PayWell 2025 report compiled by PwC and cited by Ziarul Financiar.

The average inflation was 5.5% y/y in 2024 and will be slightly higher in 2025 before easing in 2026. Consequently, it can be broadly estimated that the wages' wide real gain in 2024 was silenced in 2025 and will not improve in 2026.

The decrease in the growth rate reflects the slowdown in the economy and the increasing caution of the private sector in the face of market uncertainties.

In the coming year, industrial companies anticipate the highest average salary increase, at 8.33%, followed by pharmaceutical companies (6.92%) and retail companies (6.68%). In contrast, technology companies expect an increase of 5.29%, the lowest of the sectors included in the study.

This year, the tech sector recorded the highest average salary increase, at 9%, and was also the sector with the highest average gross salary among those analysed, at RON 21,085. The retail sector had the second-highest increase, at 8.99%, followed by industry, at 8.32%.

At the opposite end, the pharmaceutical sector recorded an increase in the average basic salary of only 3.56%.

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