Gross wage HUF 652,000 in May, up 14.8 percent yr/yr

The average net wage was 448,700 forints in May, up by an annual 14.6 percent, KSH said.

Real wages rose by 10.4 percent.

The gross median wage increased by an annual 16.9 percent to 525,000 forints.

Regular gross wages (discounting bonuses and other one-time benefits) came to 607,800 forints on average in May. Gross regular wages in business averaged at 609,100 forints, and were at 592,900 in the public sector, up by 14.1 and 17.5 percent, respectively. The non-profit sector saw a 19.3 percent increase to 636,200 forints.

Net regular wages were at 433,600 forints, up by an annual 14.8 percent.

Real wages grew by 10.4 percent against a 4.0 percent growth of retail prices.

For the period January-May, gross wages averaged 633,000 forints and net wages came to 421,000 forints, up 14.2 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Commenting on the data, the state secretary for employment policy said that government measures had succeeded in keeping inflation down, resulting in a 9-month stretch of growth in real wages. That was partly thanks to an “unprecedented agreement” between employers and employees which led to a raise in minimum wages in December already, Sandor Czomba said in a statement. The dynamic growth of real wages is easing caution in the public and helping consumption, he said. Retail has been growing for five months, and tourism was up by nearly 8 percent in the first half of the year, compared with the record year of 2023, he added.