Wages in Romania return to real positive growth

The average net wage in Romania increased to nearly RON 3,300 (EUR 680) in June, 5% more than in the same month last year, Ziarul Financiarreported.

In real annual terms (adjusted for the consumer price inflation), the wages increased by 2.3%.

The net wages thus returned to positive real growth rates after they marked the first negative performance (-0.5%), in April, after more than seven years.

The employment indeed decreased as an effect of subdued activity during the lockdown and afterward, but the annual contraction was only 1.7% as of May 2020 (latest data available).

Overall, the households’ aggregate earnings from wages remained steady in real terms, and this was seen in the stronger-than-expected recovery of the retail sales (+2.9% year-on-year in June).

In June, wages decreased significantly (by one third) in the air transport industry - not surprisingly given the lack of activity, and surged robustly (by over 14% year-on-year) in the tobacco industry - particularly resilient to any crisis. In the automobile production industry, the wages contracted by 5.3% year-on-year as the activity had not resumed at full speed in June. The salaries in the food and beverage industry increased by 8-10%, driven by robust demand.

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