Salaries Rise 6.9%, Registered Unemployment Continues to Fall
The average monthly gross salary rose to 847 euros in the first quarter of 2012, an increase of 6.9 percent compared to the same period of last year, according to Statistics Estonia.
Over the same annual time span, real wages, which take into account the change in the consumer price index and indicate purchasing power, increased by 2.4 percent. Real wages increased for the third quarter in succession.
Last quarter's average hourly gross wage came in at 5.16 euros, an increase of 6 percent compared to the first quarter of the previous year.
Another job market report published today was also positive: registered unemployment declined for the 10th week in a row to a nationwide 6.8 percent, according to the Unemployment Insurance Fund.
There is, however, a large imbalance between regions, with 12.2 percent registered unemployment in Ida-Viru County and 4.4 percent in Tartu and Viljandi Counties.
Before registered unemployment initiated its current downward trend, it had risen in 19 out of 22 weeks.
The registered unemployment rate varies significantly from the quarterly estimates by Statistics Estonia, according to which unemployment stood at 11.5 percent in the first quarter.
Ott Tammik