Filenews 8 November 2024 - by Angelos Andelodimou
Below the middle of the ranking is Cyprus in terms of the annual salary of employees among EU countries. According to data published yesterday by Eurostat, the annual salary of employees in Cyprus is below the EU average. Specifically, in 2023, the average full-time annual adjusted salary for employees in the EU was €37,900, an increase of 6.5% from €35,600 in 2022. In Cyprus, the average annual salary is €26430 from €25338 in 2022.
Among EU countries, the highest average full-time adjusted annual salary was recorded in Luxembourg (€81,100), followed by Denmark (€67,600) and Ireland (€58,700). In contrast, the lowest average full-time adjusted annual salaries were recorded in Bulgaria (€13,500), Hungary (€16,900) and Greece (€17,000).
Of course, as market people told us, the above numbers may result from calculations based on specific models, however, they may not accurately reflect the current situation in Cyprus regarding wage performance. This is because if we take for granted that the average annual salary in Cyprus amounts to €26430, then, dividing it by the 13 salaries of the year, then it follows that the average monthly salary in Cyprus is €2,033. This is a far cry from the salary received by thousands of workers on the island.
Therefore, it is added by the people in question, we will have to see what category of workers receives such salaries and how large in number this category is. Of course, it is a given that many receive such salaries, hence the justification for the increase in the volume and value of retail, which means that Cypriots continue to spend significant amounts of money shopping from supermarkets and shops. At the same time, however, it is a fact that a large part of workers find it difficult to make ends meet, having to pay rent, electricity, water, telephone and other running expenses, especially given the high prices, which reduce the purchasing power of consumers, as well as the increase in rents in several areas of the island.
It is recalled that a few days ago, data published by the Statistical Service showed that an annual increase of 4.9% is recorded in the disposable income of households and non-profit institutions serving households for 2023. According to the Statistics, based on the preliminary estimates of the main aggregates of the National Accounts by institutional sector for the year 2023, gross disposable income for the total economy amounted to €27.981.9 million, gross saving amounted to €3.463.0 million. and the net financing need (-) amounted to €2,998.7m. The disposable income of households and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISHs) increased by 4.9% compared to 2022, from €19,743.7 million to €20,713.2 million, while their final consumption expenditure increased by 9.8% in 2023 compared to 2022, from €17,030.2 million to €18.702,7 mn.
Citing these data, Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letympiotis, in a post to X, had pointed out that strengthening wage adequacy is a strategic goal of the Government, in connection with the measures taken to address housing, support households, but also with the recent package of demographic recovery measures, he noted.
However, interesting data in relation to wages were recorded in the data published a few days ago by the Statistics on average gross earnings for 2023. In particular, as previously mentioned, the average gross monthly earnings of employees for 2023 amounted to €2.363, recording an increase of 7.3% compared to 2022. For 2022 the corresponding increase was 7.1%.
According to the Statistics, the highest percentage of employees (14.9%) corresponds to the group of employees receiving between €1,000 and €1,249. This is followed by groups of employees receiving between €1,250 and €1,499 (11.7%) and those receiving between €1,500 and €1,749 (10.8%). There is also a greater concentration of women in the lowest earning groups compared to men. Indicatively, almost half of women (46.4%) receive less than €1.500, compared to 38.2% of men. The average gross monthly earnings per sector of economic activity for 2023 range between €924 in the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries sector and €4,493 in the Financial and Insurance Activities sector. There is an increase in all sectors of economic activity compared to the previous year, with the largest increase observed in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector (14.5%).
