Increase in Malta’s average wage surpasses EU average

Statistics published by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, show that the average wage increased by 2.1% during a period when inflation in Malta stood at 0.4%.

The increase in the average wage during the third quarter of 2014 also surpassed those registered in the European Union. The average increase in the EU member states was of 1.4% compared to Malta’s 2.1%.

The increase registered by Malta was the fifth highest of the eurozone member states.

Statistics showed that the biggest increase in the average wage in Malta was registered by the construction sector. According to Eurostat, wages increased by 4.4%. Increases were also noted in the manufacturing sector.

“Eurostat’s data confirm that the average Maltese salaries reached 2.3%, much higher than the inflation during the same period. This result quashes the Opposition’s claims of lesser wages and less spending money,” the government said in a statement.

“The truth is that government’s decision to cut energy bills has positively affected consumers who now have more spending money. As a result, as forecasted by the International Monetary Fund, Malta is expected to have a bigger economic growth than other EU states.”

Eurostat data confirmed that hourly labour costs rose by 1.3% in the euro area2(EA18) and by 1.4% in the EU28 in the third quarter of 2014, compared with the same quarter of the previous year.

In the second quarter of 2014, hourly labour costs increased by 1.4% in both zones.

The two main components of labour costs are wages & salaries and non-wage costs. In the euro area, wages & salaries per hour worked grew by 1.4%, and the non-wage component by 1.2%, in the third quarter of 2014 compared with the same quarter of the previous year. In the second quarter of 2014, the annual changes were +1.4% and +1.3% respectively. In the EU28, hourly wages & salaries rose by 1.4% and the non-wage component by 1.5% for the third quarter of 2014, compared with +1.4% for both components for the second quarter of 2014.

In the third quarter of 2014 compared with the same quarter of the previous year, hourly labour costs in the euro area rose by 1.7% in industry, by 1.0% in both construction and services and by 1.5% in the (mainly) non-business economy. In the EU28, labour costs per hour grew by 2.1% in industry, by 1.2% in both construction and services and by 1.3% in the (mainly) non-business economy.

In the third quarter of 2014, the highest annual increases in hourly labour costs for the whole economy were registered in Estonia (+6.3%), Slovakia (+5.7%), Latvia (+5.4%), Greece and Romania (both +5.2%). Decreases were recorded in Cyprus (-2.8%), Ireland (-0.8%) and Croatia (-0.3%).