Wages in private sector increased on average by 5.1 pc in 2017

Salaries in the private sector rose by an average of 5.1 percent this year, according to the PayWell Romania study, conducted by PwC Romania, on a sample of about 100 private companies in the financial-banking, pharmaceutical, industrial, retail and hospitality sectors. The lowest increase in terms of employees was registered at the top management level, and the highest – among unqualified personnel.

Overall, the surveyed companies had planned for the current year an average wage advance of 4.8 percent, the real increase being slightly higher than the initial estimate.

”Compliance with planned expenditure  is very important for private companies, as overtaking this ceiling may affect profitability and investment plans. There were no significant differences in 2017 between salary increases planned by companies and those actually granted. It’s very important that the private sector has managed to maintain a high degree of predictability of these expenditures over the past two years, given the legislative changes and the advance of public sector wages,” Ionut Simion, Country Managing Partner PwC Romania, stated.

Only in the companies in industrial sector have failed to reach this year’s target, the salaries being increased by 7.5 percent, compared to 5.6 percent as planned. Higher than initially planned increases were recorded in the retail and hospitality sector by 6.3 percent and 7 percent, respectively.

The banking sector recorded the lowest private-sector advance of only 2.1 percent, less than the planned and year-on-year growth, 3.3 percent and 3.2 percent.

In 2018, the salary growth plans maintain the same trend, with an increase of 5.7 percent for workers and 4.5 percent for top management in the companies, as well as for sales staff.