The average net salary paid per employee in legal entities in Croatia for January this year amounted to 6,189 kuna, which is nominally 3.6 percent higher on a monthly basis and 3.8 percent higher in real terms, while on an annual basis it nominally increased by 5 percent and in real terms by 3.9 percent, according to data published on Tuesday by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS).
According to DZS data, the median net salary for January was 5,114 kuna, meaning that half of the employees earned less and half earned more than this amount.
Average gross salary for January
In a comment from the Croatian Chamber of Economy (HGK), it is noted that it is significant that since December of last year, a slower annual growth of net salary compared to gross salary has been recorded (for the first time since November 2016), which is a result of the cessation of the effects of changes in income tax that resulted in significantly higher growth of net salary compared to gross salary last year.
The highest average monthly net salary per employee in legal entities for January was paid in air transport, amounting to 11,077 kuna, while the lowest salary, of 4,001 kuna, was received by employees in the production of leather and related products.
The average monthly gross salary for January was 8,361 kuna, which is nominally 3.8 percent higher than a month earlier and 4 percent higher in real terms.
On an annual basis, compared to January 2017, the average gross salary was nominally 5.7 percent higher and 4.5 percent higher in real terms.
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DZS data also show that the average monthly net salary per hour paid for January was 34.11 kuna, and gross 46.08 kuna.
In January, the average net hourly wage was 4.4 percent lower than in the previous month, while on an annual basis it increased by 0.9 percent.
The gross hourly wage, on the other hand, was lower by 4.2 percent on a monthly basis, but higher by 1.6 percent on an annual basis.
In January, there were 181 paid hours, which is 8.4 percent more than in the previous month. The highest number of paid hours was achieved in water transport (190), while the lowest was in social care without accommodation (160).
HGK expects continued wage growth, but slower than last year
In a comment from the Croatian Chamber of Economy (HGK), it is noted that it is significant that since December of last year, a slower annual growth of net salary compared to gross salary has been recorded (for the first time since November 2016), which is a result of the cessation of the effects of changes in income tax that resulted in significantly higher growth of net salary compared to gross salary last year.
In such circumstances, we expect somewhat slower growth of net salary this year than last year, emphasize HGK.
“We expect that wage growth in Croatia will continue throughout this year under the influence of continued economic growth, the raised level of the minimum wage, the effect of increased salaries in state and public services, and the pressure on wage growth caused by the shortage of workers in certain professions and qualifications,” says Zvonimir Savić, Director of the Sector for Financial Institutions, Business Information, and Economic Analysis at HGK.
