Wage and salary earners’ earnings for regular working hours rose by 1.8 percent in July-September

According to Statistics Finland’s preliminary data, the index of wage and salary earnings, which measures the rise in the nominal earnings of full-time wage and salary earners, rose by 1.8 per cent in July to September 2020 when compared with the respective period in 2019. Real earnings rose by 1,5 per cent compared to the third quarter of the previous year because the rise in earnings level was faster than that in consumer prices.

Index of wage and salary earnings and real earnings 2000/1 to 2020/3, annual change percentage

Wages and salaries in the local government and central government sectors were raised by a general increase in August 2020

According to Statistics Finland’s preliminary data, the nominal earnings of full-time wage and salary earners rose from July to September 2019 to the corresponding period in 2020 by 1.8 per cent in the private sector, by 1.8 per cent in the central government sector and by 1.9 per cent in the local government sector.The figure examines the development of the index of wage and salary earnings in 2015 to 2020. The examination includes the private sector, central government and local government, and ends in the latest published quarter, that is, the third quarter of 2020.

Development of the index of wage and salary earnings 2015=100 by employer sector in 2015–2020

Earnings development starts to rise at the beginning of 2020 both in local government and central government. It was agreed in the Competitiveness Pact that public sector holiday bonuses would be reduced by 30 per cent in the years 2017 to 2019. The holiday bonus cut ended after summer 2019 and this turns the index of wage and salary earnings up in the local government and central government sectors at the beginning of 2020. The index of wage and salary earnings of local government and central government sectors starts to rise again in the third quarter of 2020 because wages and salaries were raised by a general increase in August 2020 in both local government and central government.

The index of regular earnings increased by 1.6 per cent in July to September

The index for regular earnings describes the permanent change in earnings better than the index of wage and salary earnings because it does not take into account performance-based bonuses and non-recurring items included in collective agreements. The index of regular earnings rose by 1.6 per cent in July to September 2020 when compared with the respective period in 2019. The growth amounted to 1.8 per cent in the private sector, to 1.1 per cent in the central government sector, and to 1.1 per cent in the local government sector.

Index of wage and salary earnings and index of regular earnings are final as far as the year 2019

The indices of wage and salary earnings and the indices for regular earnings are final until 2019. They are based on the realised earnings development. The indices for 2020 are preliminary and they are based on estimates of agreement effects and the wage drift. In addition, the data on performance-based bonuses of the Labour Cost Index are used to assess performance-based bonuses in the calculation of the preliminary indices of the index of wage and salary earning.

Source: Index of wage and salary earnings 2020, 3rd quarter. Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Anu Uuttu 029 551 2322, Harri Nummila 029 551 3235, palkat.indeksit@stat.fi

Head of Department in charge: Hannele Orjala

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Revisions in these statistics (15.10.2020)

Updated 15.10.2020

Referencing instructions:

Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Index of wage and salary earnings [e-publication].
ISSN=1798-7814. 3rd quarter 2020. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 19.4.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/ati/2020/03/ati_2020_03_2020-10-15_tie_001_en.html