Average net salary for the first half of the year is 6,725 kuna

The average monthly net salary paid per employee in legal entities in Croatia in the first half of this year amounted to 6,725 kuna, which is a real increase of 1.7 percent compared to the same period last year, according to data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS). 

Nominally, the average net salary in legal entities for the first half of this year compared to the same period last year was higher by 2.2 percent. However, considering the inflation rate, which was 0.5 percent in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year the real annual increase is slightly lower at 1.7 percent. 

Compared to the second half of last year, when the average net salary in legal entities was 6,583 kuna, the average salary in the first half of this year is nominally higher by 2.4 percent and real by 2.2 percent.

Statistical data by activity show that the average net salary in the period from January to June this year compared to June to December last year fell in six activities, with the most pronounced decline in tourism and hospitality, which are also the most exposed to the negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Specifically, in the accommodation and food service activities, the average net salary in the first half of this year compared to the second half of last year fell by 5.3 percent. 

In contrast, among the 12 activities where the average net salary increased, the largest growth was recorded in financial and insurance activities, with an increase of 6.9 percent in the first half of this year compared to the second half of 2019.

In the second quarter, the average net salary was 6,684 kuna

Statistics on average salaries by accounting periods also show that the average net salary in the first quarter of this year was higher than in the second, which had the highest number of users of job preservation support. 

According to DZS data, the average monthly net salary paid per employee in legal entities in the first quarter amounted to 6,766 kuna, while in the second quarter, this average fell by 82 kuna to 6,684 kuna. 

The movement of salaries this year was also influenced by the coronavirus pandemic, along with very restrictive measures, especially at the end of the first and the beginning of the second quarter. 

In mid-March, the government adopted a package of measures to assist the economy aimed at preserving jobs in sectors affected by the coronavirus, including a support measure for job preservation, which amounted to 3,250 kuna for March and 4,000 kuna net for April and May. At the end of May, the conditions for this support were partially amended and directed towards the most vulnerable sectors. 

Data from the monthly bulletins of the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ) show that in April, support for job preservation was paid for 484,922 workers at 83,955 employers for March.

The highest number of workers was covered by the support for April (payments in May) – 550,910 workers at 95,484 employers, while for May, support for job preservation was paid (in June) for 443,839 workers at 96,402 employers.

At the end of May, the conditions for this support for June were partially amended, allowing entrepreneurs with a revenue drop of at least 50 percent compared to May 2019 and in certain activities (part of the sectors from agriculture, forestry, and fishing, transportation and storage, tourism and hospitality, arts, entertainment, and recreation, etc.) to use it. 

During July 2020, job preservation support for June covered 67,040 workers at 16,199 employers, according to HZZ data.

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