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Effective wages rose by an average of 2.5% in 2023

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Wages are starting to move in step with the rising inflation. © Keystone / Christian Beutler

Effective wages rose by an average of 2.5% in the most important collective bargaining agreements (GAV) in 2023. The minimum wages increased by an average of 1.9%. This emerges from a survey by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

Taking into account the inflation forecasts for 2023 of +2.2%, real wages in the GAV sector are likely to have increased slightly by 0.3%, as the BFS announced on Monday. Just over 655,000 people were affected by the effective wage adjustments. Collective employment agreements to which at least 1,500 people are subordinate were taken into account.

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In contrast to the last two years, according to the FSO, the average increase in GAV wages in 2023 was mainly distributed among collective increases (+2.1%) and only 0.4% from individual increases. This means that 86% of the wages earmarked for wage increases were distributed equally to the people affected. Collective increases were larger in both the secondary and tertiary sectors.

Minimum wages also increased. Their growth was 1.9% in industry and 1.8% in the service sector. According to the survey, the largest wage adjustments in minimum wages occurred for employees in financial and insurance services (+3.7%), for commercial employees and sales staff (+2.9%) and for employees in the manufacturing sector (2.6%). 

Wage growth was below average in, among others, health and social services (+1.3%) and in the construction industry (+1%).

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