Calculating with twelve-month CPI of 3.3% in July, real wages were up by 7.2%. Excluding the 98,400 Hungarians in fostered work programmes, the average gross wage rose by 10.3% to 372,613 forints, while net wages grew at the same rate to 247,788 forints.

Excluding fostered workers, the average gross wage in the business sector, which includes state-owned companies, rose by 11.8% to 375,801 forints. The average wage in the public sector increased by 6.0% to 368,152 forints.

Full-time fostered workers earned gross 81,544 forints in July, 1.5% less than a year earlier.

The data sources show that in January-July average gross monthly wage was highest in finance and insurance sector, at 668,673 forints, and lowest in social and health-care services, at 238,444 forints.

In January-July, gross wages rose by 10.6% year-on-year to 359,911 forints and were up by 9.6% without fostered workers at 370,314 forints. Excluding fostered workers, business sector gross wages rose 11.3 percent and public sector wages rose 5.2% in the period.

Men employed full-time earned gross 393,900 forints on average during the period, while women earned 326,700 forints. The rates rose 11.3% and 9.6%, respectively, on an annual basis.

Those under 25 years earned a monthly gross average of 276,100 forints on average, and the monthly average was 375,000 forints for those aged between 25 and 54 years and was at 352,600 forints for those over 54 years old.

Commenting on the data, Finance Minister Mihály Varga said real wages have been increasing for 79 consecutive months, over six and a half years. Wage growth was 7% in the last year alone, the ministry cited Varga as saying. Boosted by significant economic growth, tax cuts and wage hikes in the public and private sectors, net wages in Hungary have gone up by 86% since 2010, Varga said.

The government expects the positive trends to continue, with further wage growth and growing consumption, Varga added.

Analyst András Horváth of Takarékbank told MTI that he expected wage growth to remain intensive in the coming period due to the tight labour market and the record-low level of unemployment.

Péter Virovácz of ING Bank agreed that the average wage growth of 10.6% measured in the first seven months of 2019 could continue although downside risks are also increasing with the deterioration of the external economic environment.