In Q3, average gross monthly nominal wages rose by 6.1 percent yearly but fell by 9.8 percent in real terms due to high inflation. The median salary was CZK 34,993. The Czech Statistical Office (CSO) published the data on Monday. In general, two-thirds of employees do not reach the average wage.
“Despite the six percent growth in nominal wages per headcount, real wages fell for the fourth consecutive quarter in 2022, this time by 9.8 percent after accounting for the impact of inflation. This is the same decline as in the previous quarter,” said Jitka Erhartová, head of the CSO’s labor statistics department.
The average wage reached CZK 39,858 in Q3, which is CZK 2,295 (+6.1 percent) more than in the same period last year. However, consumer prices increased by 17.6 percent during this period, so the real wage fell by 9.8 percent.
“The volume of wages and salaries increased by 7.2 percent, while the number of employees increased by one percent,” the CSO added.
The median wage rose 6.5 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, reaching CZK 37,530 for men and CZK 32,171 for women. Eighty percent of employees received a salary between CZK 18 301 and CZK 62 659.
“The lowest increases in average wages were in state-dominated sectors: 0.6 percent in health and social care, 0.9 percent in public administration and defense, and 2.1 percent in education. In terms of real wage development, these three sectors face a decline of more than 13 % compared to the same period of the previous year,” said Dalibor Holý, Director of the CSO’s Labour Market Statistics and Equal Opportunities Department.
On the contrary, the average wage increased most significantly in the third quarter in the other activities sector, by 10.1 percent. This was followed by transport and storage and administrative and support activities, with a growth of around nine percent.
The majority of money is in IT
The highest nominal average wage is earned by employees in information and communication activities, with average earnings of CZK 70,719, followed by the money and insurance sector with an average salary of CZK 63,848, and the third place belongs to the electricity, gas, heat, and air conditioning production and distribution sector with CZK 54,061.
On the other hand, the lowest wage levels persisted in accommodation, catering, and food services, where employees earned an average of CZK 24,350, followed by administrative and support activities with CZK 28,795.
In the first quarter of this year, average wages rose 7.3 percent year-on-year to CZK 37,969, but actual earnings fell by 3.5 percent. In the second quarter, nominal wages grew 4.4 percent to 40,086, but after inflation was included, the decline was 9.8 percent.