Wages and salaries sum grows by 3.2 %

The wages and salaries sum of the whole economy was 3.2 per cent greater in the August to October period than in the corresponding period twelve months earlier, according to Statistics Finland.

In October, the wages and salaries sum of the whole economy grew by 3.5 per cent from the year before. One year previously in August to October, the wages and salaries sum of the whole economy increased by 4.4 per cent.

The growth in the wages and salaries sum was faster than the whole economy in the industries of private health and social work (6.2%), other services (4.1%) and financial intermediation (3.7%). The wages and salaries sum increased more slowly in the industries of manufacturing (2.9%), trade (2.2%), private education (2.2%) and construction (1.1%).

The wages and salaries sum in the private sector was 3.7 per cent greater in August to October compared to one year ago. The wages and salaries sum of the public sector was 2.7 per cent higher than in the corresponding period one year previously. In October, the wages and salaries sum in the private sector increased by 4.3 per cent and in the public sector by 2.8 per cent from one year earlier. In the August to October period one year ago, the wages and salaries sum grew by 5.4 per cent in the private sector and by 2.9 per cent in the public sector from the year before.

The wages and salaries sum refers to the sum total of the gross wages and salaries paid to employees without incentive stock options. The wages and salaries sum is influenced by changes in employment and in the earnings level of wage and salary earners.