Salaries beat inflation. In October, the index of contractual hourly wages increased by 0,2% compared to September and by 1,4% compared to October 2012. This was announced by Istat, which underlines how in the first ten months of the year the average hourly wages grew by 1,5% on a trend level. In the same period, according to Istat data, inflation decreased by 0,2% on a monthly basis and increased by 0,8% on an annual basis.
With reference to the main macro-sectors, in October, hourly contractual wages increased year-on-year by 1,8% for employees in the private sector and remained stable for those in the public administration. At the end of October, the national collective bargaining agreements in force for the economic part involved 50,6% of employed employees, corresponding to 49,0% of the wage total observed.
The sectors that showed the greatest trend increases in October – the statistical institute points out – are: food, beverages and tobacco (4,4%); telecommunications (4,0%); agriculture (3,7%). No changes were recorded in all sectors of the public administration.
At the end of October, the share of employees awaiting renewal was 49,4% in the total economy and 34,6% in the private sector. The wait for renewal for workers with expired contracts is on average 30 months for all employees and 16,4 months for those in the private sector.
