Economist warns of real wage increases at the expense of competitiveness

While real wages in most eurozone countries are still below the pre-crisis level of 2021, they have already risen again in Austria. “This is fundamentally something positive,” says Agenda economist Carmen Treml, “but it means we are losing our own competitive advantage.” Treml said this year’s metal worker wage agreement is groundbreaking – other industries should also follow this.

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According to data from the European Central Bank (ECB), negotiated real wages in this country have increased by around 0.6 percent since December 2021. In Germany, Spain and Italy, however, they are between 3 and 8 percent below the pre-crisis value. Although one-off payments in Germany are not taken into account in this comparison, even with these one-off payments there is still no real wage increase in Germany compared to 2021, explained Treml. The current KV qualifications – such as those of metalworkers or railway workers in Austria – are not yet included in the ECB figures.

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