In Hungary, despite the war, the outstanding wage increase will continue in 2022, the increase of both the average and the minimum wage far exceeds that of the other member states. Despite wartime inflation, the real value of salaries has continued to increase every month so far, while price increases have already brought a decline in other European member states.
In the eight months between January and August, we experienced a 6.1% improvement in real earnings, despite the 10.7% inflation, because the average gross and net earnings without discounts were both 17.5%, and the net earnings including discounts 18 .2% increased compared to the previous year.
In August, gross and net average earnings without discounts both increased by 16.6% compared to the same period of the previous year, and net earnings calculated with discounts increased by 17.3%. This still represented a 0.9% improvement in real earnings, despite the 15.6% increase in consumer prices compared to the previous year.
Based on the data published by the statistical offices of the neighboring countries, the average salary has already lost its real value everywhere. In the second quarter, for example, the purchasing power of salaries decreased by -9.8 percent in the Czech Republic, -2.1 percent in Poland, -4.5 percent in Slovakia, and -4.4 percent in Germany, so it worsened. In Slovakia, workers have to experience the worst deterioration in the last 22 years. Local statistical offices do not publish data on salary trends with the same frequency, and Eurostat does not make year-on-year comparisons either.
The KSH publishes the latest earnings data in a number of breakdowns every month. The claim includes elements of earnings paid in addition to the basic salary and under other rights, e.g. wage supplement, additional salary, bonus, reward, 13th and further monthly salaries, etc. A number of un non-regular earnings (e.g. bonus, bonus, 13th and subsequent monthly salary, etc.) are also included in the average earnings.
Regular earnings only include the part of the salaries that we receive each month. This amount is higher than the basic salary, because there are many allowances both in the private sector and in the public sector, which are paid the same every month.
Average earnings usually increase in January-February in an average year only as a result of increases in the minimum wage. Most of the time, only the regular elements increase in these two months, the non-regular earnings portion is not usually high at this time. This year, however, employees received extraordinary rewards in many areas, e.g. in the case of the armed forces, the "six-month gun money", which is why the non-regular earnings are exceptionally high here.
By March, companies usually adopt the annual budget plans, and this is when they usually order annual salary increases in most workplaces, which increases the regular part. In the meantime, non-regular benefits around Easter also come in March and April. Thus, the average salary is always a little higher in these two months.
Every year, non-regular earnings are the lowest in August, since many people take their holidays then, and many performance-related allowances are not paid during paid absences. That is why the total average salary tends to be a little lower every year.
At the end of the year, the November earnings received at the beginning of December and the December earnings paid at the beginning of January tend to be exceptionally large due to the high non-regular earnings, which then tends to increase the annual average significantly.
Today, many left-wing media have started spreading fake news, as they do not take into account the monthly dynamics of earnings, i.e. the differences arising from seasonality.
It is not true that wages in our country have been falling for months!
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Author: Piroska Szalai
Image: Pixabay
