Average wage grows to CZK 25,101 in 2012, falls in real terms

Prague, March 11 (CTK) - Czech average wage increased by Kc665 or 2.7 percent yr/yr to Kc25,101 in 2012 and in real terms it fell by 0.6 percent, the Czech Statistical Office (CSU) said yesterday.

A slower fall of real purchasing power was seen in the business sector, while the non-business sector reported a bigger drop, statisticians said.

Median wage (boundary between the highest paid 50 percent and the lowest paid 50 percent of workers in an occupation) reached a preliminary Kc22,247 last year, an annual hike of 1.8 percent.

In the last quarter of 2012, average gross wage grew by 3.7 percent or Kc964 to Kc27,170 in nominal terms annually.

Statisticians assigned the growth to extraordinary bonuses for employees in the best-paid positions.

It can be assumed that some companies paid extraordinary bonuses to their managers at the end of the year instead of in the first months of next year, the CSU said.

Real wage was 0.9 percent higher over the period.

Q4 average wage in the business sector posted a nominal rise of 4.2 percent and added 1.4 percent in real terms.

In the non-business sector, nominal wage grew by 1.3 percent but fell by 1.5 percent at constant prices.

Quarter-on-quarter, seasonally-adjusted average wage increased by 1.3 percent, the CSU said.

One-tenth of top graduate earners was paid over Kc72,808 a month last year, while one-tenth of employees with primary education earned less than Kc9,962 a month, the CSU said.

Median wage of university graduates stood at Kc32,786. Workers with a secondary school leaving examination were paid Kc23,288, apprentices without getting a school leaving examination Kc18,817 and employees with primary and unfinished education Kc15,695.

Median wage of executives reached Kc40,326, while that of auxiliary and unqualified workers Kc13,398.

There was still a gap between the male and female wage. Gross median wage of women amounted to Kc20,271 and was Kc3,594 lower than the male median wage, accounting for 85 percent of the male figure.

Slovaks working in the Czech Republic have a higher median wage than Czechs, Kc23,864, the CSU said. The lowest wage level was seen for Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Poles and Romanians working in the country.