That’s how much your salary has lost in value

Inflation has had a firm grip on the economy for months. This also affects the salary. The Federal Statistical Office measured the strongest real wage loss for employees in 2022. We reveal how much less your salary is now worth.

The Federal Statistical Office has been collecting figures for the real wage index and the nominal wage index since 2008. The office therefore records how much money is earned and how much can be converted into actual purchasing power.

The ongoing inflation means that employees can no longer afford to pay even if their salary increases. And they reflect that too preliminary figures for 2022 contrary.

Inflation: Your salary is worth so much less now

If you only look at the numbers on paper, wages and salaries have increased more than at any time since the Federal Statistical Office began to record them. Because the nominal wage has increased by 3.4 percent compared to the previous year.

For employees, however, this does not automatically mean that they can now afford more. Because real wages fell by 4.1 percent in 2022. This is the sharpest fall in real wages for employees since records began in 2008.

How are nominal and real wage indices created?

The indices calculated by the Federal Statistical Office are derived from the earnings survey for the respective year. For the nominal wage index, the gross monthly earnings of employees including all special payments are used.

These increased by 3.4 percentage points in 2022. On the other hand, consumer prices have risen by a full 7.9 percent. According to the Federal Statistical Office, this results in a drop in real wages of 4.1 percent.

This is the third year in a row that real wages have fallen. In 2020, the short-time work used in many places had a negative impact on real wages. In 2021 and 2022, inflation was the main factor.

Salary and inflation: Definitive wage loss figures to follow

The figures presented are initially preliminary figures. The Federal Statistical Office intends to announce the final indices for 2022 at the beginning of March.

Until then, the data from the fourth quarter in particular must be finally processed. In March, however, “detailed and final results” should be available.

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