Romanians’ income depending on social class

Over 80% of the poorest Romanians’ income comes from self-employment and social assistance benefits, according to the 2014-2015 Global Wage Report, made by the International Labour Organisation, cited by local Economica.net. The main sources of income for poor Romanians are the salary – 40% of the total income, self-employment – 23-25% and pensions – less than 20%. For Romania’s lower middle class, the income comes from salaries – 58% of the total, and pensions – some 20%, while the upper middle class’ income mainly comes from salaries – around 73%, the rest being generated by pensions. Rich and very rich Romanians mainly live from salaries – 80% of the total household income. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com