PwC: Gross wages in Romanian private companies rise by 9.5% in 2019

The average gross salary paid by Romanian private companies is approaching RON 6,000 (EUR 1,260) in 2019, which is 9.5% higher than in 2018, according to the PayWell survey conducted by PwC Romania.

The salary increase reported for 2019 exceeds the level of 4.6% estimated for this year by the respondent companies in the previous edition. For 2020, private companies are estimating a 5.7% average gross wage increase.

The highest average wage growth in 2019 was recorded in the hotel sector (+14%). Industry (+11%), leasing (+10%), and retail (+10%), also recorded above-average increases. The wages of unskilled or low-skilled workers increased by 10%, on average, but the wages of operational managers and top managers also increased rapidly (+13% and +9% respectively).

"We note that the wage increase in 2019 was higher than the level predicted by the companies included in Paywell last year, being influenced mainly by the workforce shortage, but also by the evolution in the public sector and by the government decisions regarding the minimum wage. As a result of the cumulative increases of about 50% that have been taken place in the public sector since 2017, the ratio between PayWell average income, representing mostly medium & large companies, and national average income has dropped from 1.4 to 1.16 during this period,” said Daniel Anghel, Leader of the Tax and Legal Department, PwC Romania.

The economy-wide average gross wage reported by the statistics office (INS) for August was RON 5,000 (+12% year-on-year). In industry, the average gross wage was only RON 4.500 (+11.5% year-on-year). For comparison, the consumer price inflation was 3.5% year-on-year in August.

(Photo source: Pixabay.com)