Hourly wages up in Cyprus but still below EU average

The average hourly wage and salary increased by 7.5% in Cyprus last year compared to the year before, reaching €15.60/h.

Though an improvement, and higher than the 4.4% and 4.0% increases in the EU and euro area respectively, it still remains significantly lower than the EU’s average hourly wage of €22.90/h (€25.50/h in the euro area).

The figures were released by Eurostat, which said that in 2022 compared with 2021, hourly wages and salaries in the euro area rose by 2.9% in the (mainly) non-business economy and by 4.4% in the business economy: +3.9% in industry, +4.9% in construction and +4.5% in services. In the EU, they grew by 3.2% in the (mainly) non-business economy and by 4.9% in the business economy: +4.6% in industry, +5.2% in construction and +5.0% in services.

In Cyprus, there was a 7.5% increase in industry, a 4% increase in construction and a 9.7% increase in services. The economic activities that recorded the highest annual increases in hourly wages and salaries were accommodation and food service activities (+24.5%), arts, entertainment and recreation (+19.2%), information and communication (+13.1%) and administrative and support service activities (+9%).

In the EU, the economic activities that recorded the highest annual increases in hourly wages and salaries in 2022 were mining and quarrying (+9.6%), followed by professional, scientific and technical activities (+6.4%) and electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply along with financial and insurance activities (both +5.6%).

Hourly wages and salaries increased the least in Italy, Malta and Finland (+2.3% each), and the most in Lithuania (+13.4%), Estonia (+8.8%) and Croatia (+8.7%).

For EU countries outside the euro area, the hourly wages and salaries expressed in national currency also increased in all countries.

They increased the least in Denmark (+2.2%) and Sweden (+3.0%) and the most in Hungary (+16.4%), Bulgaria (+15.5%), Romania (+12.3%) and Poland (+11.7%).