The average gross salary was RON 1,751 (€483) in September, a 1.3 percent rise month-on-month. In annual terms, in the September 2007-September 2008 period, the average net salary increased by about one quarter (24.6 percent).
However, this year’s highest average net salary was reached in July, when it amounted to RON 1,308 (€355.01) for the first time ever. The salary increase is subject to a higher growth rate than labor productivity. Thus, the annual salary growth rate surpassed the 8.4 percent rise in labor productivity in the industry sector in the first eight months of this year. In September, the highest net salaries were registered in the hydrocarbon extraction industry and collateral services, RON 3,380 (€932), while the lowest were in the clothing industry, RON 740 (€204).
The average net salary rose in September compared to August in most economic sectors, mainly due to bonuses, salary negotiations, and increasing production. “The rise in salaries is also due to trade union demands. We could expect a slowdown in salary rises in the coming months, most likely at the beginning of 2009, in the context of the international financial crisis,” Dragos Cabat, Managing Partner of the Financial View advisory company, told Business Standard.
