In 2020, the average net wage was only HUF 210,585 (EUR 551), about HUF 58,000 lower than reported by the Central Statistical Office (KSH), according to GKI Economic Research’s latest analysis that includes all working Hungarians. In addition, the local average was under the national average in 87% of the Hungarian municipalities.
As we reported, according to KSH, the average net wage was HUF 268,000 (EUR 701) in 2020.
In contrast to KSH, which only calculates the salaries of full-time employees of companies with at least five employees and of state and local government enterprises, the leftist economic think-tank, has used the Tax Authority’s data to calculate the average earnings of all working Hungarians.
According to their findings:
Similar to another recent analysis, GKI also found large gaps across the country in this matter:
KSH recently reported that in February 2022, Hungarian gross monthly salaries increased by nearly a third compared to the same month of the previous year, something that astonished many since most Hungarians saw their wages increase by nowhere near that much. As a matter of fact, similar to this above-mentioned factor, a different way of calculation is behind the tendency. In this case, the contradiction mainly lies in the significant hike in the minimum wage and the recent one-off bonus for soldiers and police, which is the equivalent of their six-month salary. As a result, economic news site Portfolio’s estimates, the actual real gross wage increase adjusted for Hungary’s record high inflation, is closer to a much more modest 3-4%.
featured image illustration via Attila Balázs/MTI