Wages and salaries, on which social security contributions were paid, increased by EUR 216 in the last quarter of 2023, year-on-year, while net earnings rose by EUR 122, according to Sodra.
“Labour income has grown faster than annual inflation since the middle of the year. Fears that growth might slow down towards the end of the year due to economic crises or consequences of the war have turned out to be unfounded. The trend of the last few years, with labour income rising by an average of 12-13% each year, continued in 2023 as well,” said Kristina Zitikytė, adviser with Sodra’s Statistics, Analysis and Forecast Unit.
“As labour income rises, so do benefits. Last year, the old-age pension increased by 12%,” she told a press conference held on Thursday.
The adviser also recalled that the minimum monthly wage had grown by 15.1% to EUR 840 from EUR 730, while the average wage had gone up to EUR 2,060 from EUR 1,844.
Other benefits had also risen sharply between November 2023 and November 2022, she said. One-day sickness benefit increased by 13%, childcare benefit by 17%, unemployment benefit by 15%, maternity benefit by 18% and paternity benefit by 4%.
Zitikytė also said wages in the construction sector grew the fastest, at 15.9%. However, at EUR 970 after taxes, these wages remain below the average wage across the country.
According to the data of Sodra, highest wages were recorded in the municipalities of Neringa, Vilnius City and District, Kaunas City and District. The lowest wages were observed in the district municipalities of Radviliškis, Pakruojis, Vilkaviškis, Kupiškis and Šalčininkai.
“The gap between Vilnius and the rest of Lithuania has narrowed slightly. This is due to a slightly slower growth of labour income in Vilnius. If we translate everything into ‘after taxes’, Vilnius residents earned about EUR 388 more,” said Zitikytė.
The average wage is EUR 1,254 after taxes in the ten municipalities with the highest average labour incomes. Meanwhile, it is EUR 964 in the ten municipalities with the lowest incomes, Sodra said.