On the occasion of the recently published annual report of Ergani, the Minister of State Akis Skertsos thoroughly analyzes the data surrounding salaries in our country, in a relevant post on social media.

At the beginning the Minister of State states that “we all recognize that wages in our country must increase significantly and converge faster with European incomes in order to offer a decent standard of living to workers. After all, this is the main programmatic and financial goal of the government. Ergani’s annual report for 2023 gives optimism for the future, as it presents very interesting data on the positive course of both wages and employment in the domestic labor market.”

In more detail, “2+4 are the most critical elements to retain, comparing the salary and employee situation between 2019 and 2023:

* More than 310 thousand Greek men and women came out of the spectrum of unemployment and are currently working. Within 4 years, 310,509 fellow citizens who were not working until 2019 found a job. The employees of the private sector amounted to 2,296,845 at the end of 2023, i.e. they increased by 15.6% from 2019 which was 1,986,336.

* The average salary increased by 20%. In addition to the 20% increase in the minimum wage from 650 to 780 euros, a corresponding 20% ​​increase was also noted in the average salary, which rose from 1,046 euros in 2019 to 1,251 euros in 2023.”

Analyzing, on the other hand, “the number of workers per income bracket, we see that the Greek labor market is gradually moving away from a low-wage market, significantly expanding the share of workers who receive better wages”, notes the Minister of State, elaborating immediately afterwards:

“While until 2019 the most populous salary category was the lowest with salaries below 700 euros, now the most populous salary category is the one between 1,000 and 3,000 euros.

* In 2019, 704,631 employees (i.e. 35.5% of all employees) were paid a salary of less than 700 euros. In 2023, workers paid a salary of less than 700 euros fell to 415,784. This means that the share of low-wage workers decreased within 4 years to 18.1% of all workers, and 287,847 workers were transferred to a higher income category.

* In 2019, 561,151 employees (i.e. 28.2% of all employees) were paid a salary between 700 and 1000 euros. In 2023, workers paid a salary between 700 and 1000 euros increased to 817,247. This means that employees in this scale increased in 4 years to 35.6% of all employees. 256,096 workers were added to this income bracket and earned higher incomes.

* In 2019, 664,855 employees (i.e. 33.5% of all employees) were paid a salary between 1000 and 3000 euros. In 2023, workers paid a salary between 1000 and 3000 euros increased to 980,326. This means that employees in this scale increased in 4 years to 42.7% of all employees. 315,471 workers were added to this income bracket and earned higher incomes.

* In 2019, 55,619 employees (i.e. 2.8% of all employees) were paid a salary of >3000 euros. In 2023, 83,488 workers were paid a salary >3000 euros. This means that employees in this scale increased in 4 years to 3.6% of all employees. 27,869 workers were added to this income bracket and earned higher incomes.”

After all, “are we satisfied with these salaries? The answer is no. We must go even better and faster to further boost citizens’ real disposable income. But it is certainly confirmed that the implemented economic policy brings results and improves the profile of the Greek labor market by offering better wages to more workers”.

In closing, the Minister of State attaches the Ergani report.