Average net salary up just RON 1 in Romania in February; top sectorial increases and decreases

The average net salary in Romania was just 0.1 percent higher – or RON 1- in February this year on the previous month, to RON 1.626 (the equivalent of some EUR 361), according to statistical data. Meanwhile, the average gross nominal salary was 0.1 percent lower, at RON 2,247 – or some EUR 500. The highest net salary was found in tobacco product manufacturing (RON 4,648, or EUR 1,032), while the lowest was in accommodation and food service activities (RON 957, or EUR 212). The year-on-year evolution of salaries in Romania shows an increase of 4.7 percent in net nominal earnings. Fluctuations in earnings were recorded during the year 2013, mainly determined by granting annual premiums and holiday bonuses in December, and March/April. These influence the increases or decreases depending on the period they are granted, finally leading to smoothing the fluctuations in monthly earnings at the level of the whole year, according to the National Statistics Institute. The most significant increases in the average net earnings were recorded as follows:

• - 32.7 percent in tobacco product manufacturing;
• - 10.5 percent to 12.5 percent in manufacturing of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations and in water transport;
• - 5 percent to 10 percent in manufacture of wood and of products of wood and cork (except furniture; manufacture of articles of straw and plaiting materials), activities auxiliary to financial services and insurance activities, computer programming, consultancy and related activities (including information service activities), insurance, reinsurance and pension funding (except compulsory social security);
• - 2 percent to 3.5 percent in publishing activities, arts, entertainment and recreation, professional, scientific and technical activities, motion picture, video and television programmes production, (including sound recording and music publishing activities; programming and broadcasting activities), wholesale and retail trade (including repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles), postal and courier activities, manufacture of textiles.

Month-on-month decreases were also recorded in some sectors, either as a consequence of granting occasional bonuses in the previous months, missing production targets or lower receipts (depending on contracts), or because of the financial difficulties. The most significant decreases in the average net earnings have been recorded as follows:

• - 10.6 percent in extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas;
• - 4.5 percent to and 7 percent in mining support service activities, warehousing and support activities for transportation;
• - 2.5 percent to 4 percent in manufacturing of other transport equipment, telecommunications, manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products, land transport and transport via pipelines, financial service activities (except insurance and pension funding);