Following wage growth of more than 10 percent real last year, in the beginning of this year wages rose by 11.5 percent year-on-year in Hungary, Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga said.

The main drivers of the 61-month upward wage trend have been public sector career models and the Government-initiated six-year wage agreement, he added. Average net wages, including family tax allowances, increased to more than HUF 215 thousand per month, and thus net wages have gained 62.3 percent since 2010.

The gross minimum wage (for unskilled workers) was raised to HUF 138 thousand in 2018 from HUF 73 500 seen in 2010, which corresponds to an increase of 88 percent. The amount of the guaranteed minimum wage (for skilled workers) rose even more markedly, from HUF 89 500 to HUF 180 500, up by 102 percent. Within the national economy, by 2017 net wages in real terms grew – including family incentives – by 36.3 percent on average compared to the year 2010. Wages in real terms in the case of employees with more than one child grew more than the average: by 2017 the real wage of a parent with two and three children increased by 45.8 percent and 64.8 percent, respectively, in comparison to 2010. Gross and net wages both grew by 13.8 percent in the period January 2017-January 2018. Regional wage differences have been narrowed, with the largest changes registered in Szabolcs-Szatmár, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Nógrád and Baranya Counties, the Minister noted. In the month of January 2018, wages in the private sector gained 13.2 percent year-on-year, with the wage of manual workers up by 15.9 percent.

Rising wages have also boosted labour supply, the Minister pointed out: it is increasingly worth taking a job and positive economic trends have also increased the number of available jobs at enterprises. In the course of 2018, further wage growth is expected which in turn is predicted to give additional impetus to economic expansion, Mihály Varga stressed.

(Ministry for National Economy)