Romania: Net wages jump in July

Wages in the public sector are up by 21.5% YoY driven by 19.3% YoY growth in the education sector and an even more impressive 31.1% in public healthcare. This keeps the pressure elevated on the private sector as well, which posted an 11.0% YoY increase.

The revised employment data released by the National Institute of Statistics has shown that the unemployment rate has reached a new historical low since the time the new data is available (1997), at 4.2% in July.

With job creation slowing down and limited fiscal impulse going forward, the pace of wage rises could continue to ease a bit. Still, pressures are not likely to diminish that much due to state wage policies and it could be exacerbated by the electoral calendar.