The evolution of salaries in Romania has so far failed to match the annual inflation rate, according to a survey carried out by local recruitment platform BestJobs on over 1,400 respondents. In April 2022, the average net wage in Romania was 11.4% higher than in April 2021, pointing to a decrease in the employees' real revenues as the annual inflation rate reported the same month was 13.8%. In May, the National Institute of Statistics reported an annual inflation rate of 14.5%.

The BestJobs survey shows that only 37% of respondents have received a pay rise since the beginning of this year and that a further 12% have been supported by their employer through other means, such as being given meal vouchers or the occasional bonus. The remaining 51% did not receive any increase whatsoever in their monthly income and have been left to deal with rising prices with outdated salaries.

Additionally, 90% of the respondents who received a pay raise at the beginning of 2022 received an amount below the current rate of inflation, leading to a drop in purchasing power of as much as 50%.  

Nearly 44% of the employees who have not received a pay rise and of those for whom the salary increase does not cover the level of inflation said they were considering applying for other jobs, in the hopes of finding something that would offer better pay. A further 19% of respondents said that they plan on discussing matters with their employer, in the hopes that an effective solution will be found. Unfortunately, in the case of a quarter of respondents, employers did actually promise a salary increase, but the promise has so far not materialized.

BestJobs marketing Manager, Ana Visian, commented on the survey’s results: “The reality is that employees are strongly feeling the gap between wage levels and market prices. And the situation is no better for the employers, as they are forced to supplement their wage budgets or adopt new strategies to be able to maintain their output levels.”

Some 56% of employees in Romania believe that a salary increase of between 10% and 30% could reduce the effects of inflation in their case, while almost a quarter believe that they need a 31-50% increase. One in five employees believe their financial situation would require a wage increase of over 50% to maintain their lifestyle. In this context, 1 in 10 Romanian employees plans to take on professional projects in addition to their job, to supplement their income and cover the current level of inflation.

maia@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Radub85 | Dreamstime.com)