The cooling of energy prices to 18.8% and food prices to 8.5% in June, and the consequent fall in the profits they can generate, has the counterproductive effect of a loss of purchasing power of up to 4.3% in gross monthly costs. wages of electricity, gas and steam workers and agriculture, according to data extracted by Dinheiro Vivo from the report published this Thursday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) for the second quarter. In June, inflation fell to 4.4%, largely due to the fall in the cost of electricity, gas and food.
Contrary to the global trend of a 2.4% increase in real average gross wages of employees, already after accounting for June inflation of 4.4%, wages in the electricity, gas, steam, warm and cold water sector and cold air the largest decrease, of 4.3%, amounting to 2963 euros. Nevertheless, in absolute terms it is a salary that is well above the world average of 1288 euros. In agriculture, livestock, hunting, forestry and fishing, the average real wage shrank by 1.2% to EUR 766, a value that is only EUR 6 above the national minimum wage (EUR 760).
High inflation in these industries generates higher margins and profits for companies, enabling them to better reward their employees. When prices start to slow down, the trend also reflects this movement in orders.
The immigration factor will also play a role here. Although INE does not explain this decline in the purchasing power of these workers, it is possible that the massive entry of foreigners from poorer countries into these areas has curbed the wage impulse, as labor abroad tends to pay lower wages. cheaper, and especially in less qualified areas.
Completing the stage of the sectors that have lost the most to inflation is the area of financial activities and insurance, which registered a decrease of 0.7%, with a real average gross remuneration of 2206 euros.
On the other side of the table, real gross monthly average compensation for administrative activities and support services, related to travel agencies, tourism, machine rental and specialized business support, posted the largest gains in purchasing power, growing 4.7% to EUR 888.
Consulting, scientific, technical and similar activities recorded the second best real increase in fees, of 4.2%, totaling a salary of 1546 euros. Tied to gains of 4.2% are the real wages of workers in accommodation, catering and the like, which reached 827 euros in June.
Private workers gain more purchasing power, with higher real wage growth, but nominal wages are higher in the public sector.
Overall, the cooling of inflation has pushed up workers’ real wages, alleviating the accumulated losses of 17 consecutive months in which the price index crushed wages. For example, the total average gross monthly salary of 4.6 million employees rose between April and June in real terms by 2.4% to 1,288 euros. “This is the second consecutive record of real wage increases since November 2021,” the INE report said.
Real wages in the private sector rose more (3.1%) than the world average and also outpaced variation in the civil service (2.2%). However, the salary paid by the state of 1948 Euros, apart from the influence of inflation, is much higher. It is a difference of 787 euros per month compared to the average gross salary of 1161 euros for the private sector.
By company size, real earnings were higher in smaller entities with one to four employees. In this case, the increase was 3.2%, which corresponds to a salary of 814 euros. In the largest companies, employing 500 or more employees, there was also a high positive variation, namely 2.7%, with an average salary of 1586 euros.
Salomé Pinto is a journalist for Dinheiro Vivo
Source: DN
