The average wage rate for all the surveyed industry sections, as determined by the wage index, increased by 3.5% in nominal terms over a year in June 2023, faster than it had three months earlier, according to data released on September 26 by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD).
The average salary rate increased by 1.4% in real terms after inflation was discounted.
In June 2023, nominal and real wage indices increased year over year in each of the chosen industry segments, ranging from 2.5% to 6.0% and 0.3% to 3.8%, respectively.
In June 2023 compared to a year prior, 63% of the employers reported a rise in average wage rates. 33% of the businesses overall saw a drop in average hourly pay during that time.
Payroll climbed by 3.2% year over year in the second quarter of 2023, which was also a quicker rate of growth than the increase in the first quarter. Nominal payroll per person engaged, which includes basic pay, discretionary bonuses, and other irregular payments, increased by this amount. Payroll per person engaged increased by 1.1% in actual terms after adjusting for inflation.
In the second quarter of 2023, nominal indices of payroll per person engaged increased year over year in all chosen industry areas, ranging from 0.1% to 9.9%. With the exception of the social and personal services section, where there was a year-over-year decline of 1.9%, all of the selected industry sections examined experienced real payroll indices year-over-year gains ranging from 0.5% to 7.7%.
According to a government spokeswoman, together with the ongoing improvement in labour market circumstances, the annual growth in nominal wages and labour earnings accelerated further in the second quarter of 2023. In the near future, the continuous recovery of domestic and international tourism and local consumption should continue to fuel labour demand and boost salaries and labour earnings.
