The private sector gross salaries in Romania are expected to increase by an average of 8.11% in 2022, after an average increase of 8.94% this year, according to the PayWell 2021 Survey conducted by PWC.
The salary increase reported for 2021 is almost twice that previously estimated by the respondent companies in PayWell 2020 during a time of economic uncertainty.
“Business leaders had pessimistic expectations in the first half of last year when they estimated a much more severe impact of the crisis on the global economy. As the restrictions that limited activity were lifted, the negative effects on the economy were reduced and companies have managed to grant much higher salary increases than they estimated at the start of the health crisis,” said Dinu Bumbăcea, Country Managing Partner PwC Romania in a report on Monday.
„Although double-digit wage increases have returned due to inflation, real earnings have been eroded. For next year, the forecasts are optimistic but moderate, because the effects of the pandemic will continue in the medium term and the economic climate will remain volatile,” added Bumbăcea.
The industry sector recorded the highest average salary growth (13.66%) in 2021. That was followed by the pharmaceutical sector (10.51%), retail (8.2%) and banking (8.01%). According to the study, the top average salaries in 2021 by function were in Strategy, followed by Legal and IT.
The Bucharest-Ilfov region recorded the highest average gross salary level (RON 8,850) in the country. That’s almost double the average in the Moldavia region (RON 4,444).