In January-July, gross wages grew by an annual 5.9%. KSH attributed the increase to a 5.7% rise in the minimum wages for skilled and unskilled workers, higher stipends for the armed forces and a salary top-up for Hungarians employed in social services.

Economy ministry state secretary Péter Cseresnyés said the data reflect a favourable trend in real wages over the past 43 months. Real wage growth accelerated from an annual increase of just over 7% in the past few months to 7.4%, on the back of low inflation combined with a one percentage point reduction in personal income tax, he said.

Real wages are expected to continue growing during the autumn, as a shortage of skilled labour would push wages up, he said.

Excluding people in fostered job schemes, the real wages of public employees such as teachers, health workers and law enforcement staff had risen by 11%, he noted. The same measure for the private sector was a rise of 6.7%, he added.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.