The average net wage in Romania (chart) rose by only 0.6% m/m to RON5,217 (€1,050) in April, enough to result in an annual advance of 14.3% y/y compared to +13.9% y/y in April according to data reported by the statistics office. 

Combined with lower inflation (5.9% y/y in April), this in turn resulted in a +7.9% y/y real rise of the average net wage – close to the record rates seen in Q4 last year.

The steepest advance was in education (+31.2% y/y, real terms) thanks to the wage hike in January, but the wages in chemicals (+18.5% y/y), the pharma industry (+16.8% y/y), the whole extractive industry (+13.5% y/y) and transportation (water and air) also increased by double-digit annual rates in real terms.

These are among the highest growth rates seen in the past couple of years – since 2019 (except for April 2021 which reflected low base effects one year after the emergence of the COVID-19 crisis). Such high growth rates will be supported by decreasing inflation throughout the year and will boost private consumption that already became visible in stronger retail sales (+8.1% y/y in March-April taken together to filter out the effects of the Easter holiday purchasing peak). 

Further decline in inflation as well as the Easter bonuses may further push up the net average wage in May while the annual real advance is expected to remain high at least by the end of the year sporting private consumption.