Hungary’s average gross monthly wage grew by an annual 13.8 percent to 310,800 HUF (1,000 EUR) in January, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) has announced.
Official figures show that net wages climbed at the same pace, reaching 206,700 HUF. Calculating with an annualized CPI of 2.1 percent in January, real wages rose by 11.5 percent.
KSH said that excluding Hungarians in fostered work programs, the average gross wage increased by 12.7 percent to 323,600 HUF.
Mihály Varga, minister for National Economy, said that wages had risen for 61 consecutive months over the past five years, and the trend was likely to continue in the coming months.
He added that wage hikes were most apparent in the transport, warehousing, health and construction sectors. The minister said wages were growing in the wake of the six-year wage agreement signed by the government, employees and unions in November 2016 and had exceeded expectations.
Minister Varga also underlined the government’s commitment to balanced and sustainable growth. Varga noted that the public debt had been on a downward path for the last seven years and the budget deficit had been at a benign level for many years.