Although wages have increased in nominal terms, inflation burdens on purchasing power
Premise. Average gross monthly salary is the share of salary resources (including overtime allowances, bonuses, wage allowances, etc.) per employee per month. It does not indicate the salary of a specific employee. Structural earnings statistics, which contain data on the earnings of individual employees, indicate that about two-thirds of employees earn less than the national average. It should not be forgotten that the relevant amounts for health insurance, social security and income tax advances are deducted by the employer for the employee from the gross salary; the employee is paid a net salary.
During 2022 the average salary in the Czech Republic exceeded 40.000 Czech crowns, according to data from the Czech Statistical Office. During 2021, however, average salaries grew by 6,5% to 40.353 Czech crowns. Due to inflation, Czech employees experienced a decline in purchasing power in 2022, and their salaries remain below the inflation rate. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the average nominal gross salary increased by 7,9%, however, in real terms it decreased by 6,7%, due to rising inflation. At the beginning of 2022 the average salary was CZK 37.463, at the end it amounted to CZK 43.412. Compared to the previous quarter, the average wage growth was 2,1%. Comparing it with the same period in 2021, the growth was 3.188 koruna, so 7,9% higher. Consumer prices increased by 15,7 percent, so overall wages decreased by 6,7 percent, the volume of wages increased by 8,9 percent, and the number of employees by 0,9 percent.
According to the analysis of Jitka Erhartová, head of the CZSO labor statistics department, in 2022 as a whole inflation reached 15,1% and nominal wage growth was 6,5%. Thus, in real terms, wages decreased by 7,5%. For women, the current average wage is 34.554 kronor, and for men 40.232 kronor. Most employees (80 percent) received wages between CZK 18.666 and CZK 70.514.
The largest increases in wages occurred in the electricity, gas, heat and air conditioning production sector (14,6 percent increase), financial, insurance and administrative sector, by more than 10 percent. Less growth occurred in public employment: in education they increased by almost 2 percent, while in health care they fell by more than 4 percent. This occurred because of the extraordinary bonuses paid for the emergency from Covid-19 in 2021.
Sources: https://www.camic.cz/ ; https://www.czso.cz/
Source of images: https://pixabay.com/ ; https://storyset.com/
