Employees and average wages and salaries - Third quarter of 2026

The number of employees under labour contract at the end of September 2026 decreased by 43.5 thousand, or by 1.8% compared to the end of June 2026, and reached 2.32 million according to the preliminary data of the National Statistical Institute (NSI). The highest decrease was observed in the following economic activities: ‘Accommodation and food service activities’ - by 15.2%, ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’ - by 3.8%, and ‘Real estate activities’ - by 3.5%. An increase was recorded in the economic activities: ‘Human health and social work activities’ - by 0.7%, and ‘Education’ - by 0.1%.

At the end of September 2026, compared to September 2025, the number of employees under labour contract decreased by 31.4 thousand, or by 1.3%. The highest decrease in absolute figures was observed in the economic activities ‘Manufacturing’ - by 23.4 thousand, ‘Administrative and support service activities’ - by 4.9 thousand, and ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’ - by 3.3 thousand,  and the highest increase was in ‘Human health and social work activities’ - by 10.0 thousand. In percentages, the highest decrease at the end of September 2026, compared to September 2025, was in the economic activity ‘Real estate activities’ - by 6.1%, in ‘Manufacturing’ - by 5.4%, as the highest increase was reported in ‘Human health and social work activities’ - by 4.8%.

The average monthly gross wages and salaries of the employees under labour contract in July 2026 were 1 445 EUR, in August 2026 - 1 411 EUR, and in September 2026 - 1 458 EUR.

In the third quarter of 2026, in comparison with the second quarter of 2026, the average monthly wages and salaries decreased by 0.4% and reached 1 438 EUR. The highest decrease in wages and salaries was reported in: ‘Mining and quarrying’ - by 7.1%, ‘Financial and insurance activities’ - by 2.4%, and ‘Education’ - by 2.2%.

Compared to the third quarter of 2025, the average monthly wages and salaries in the third quarter of 2026 rose by 10.4%. The highest growth rates were recorded in the following economic activities: ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’ - by 20.3%, and ‘Other service activities’ - by 17.4%.

The economic activities with the highest wages and salaries in the third quarter of 2026 were:

• ‘Information and communication’ - 3 059 EUR;
• ‘Financial and insurance activities’ - 2 088 EUR;
• ‘Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply’ - 2 063 EUR.

The lowest wages and salaries were recorded in:

• ‘Accommodation and food service activities’ - 908 EUR;
• ‘Other service activities’ - 1 065 EUR;
• ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’ - 1 084 EUR.

In comparison with a year earlier, the average monthly wages and salaries in the public sector grew by 5.9% and in the private sector - by 11.9%.

Methodological notes

The source of information is the ‘Quarterly Survey on employees, hours worked, wages and salaries, and other expenditures paid by the employer’. The main purpose of this sample survey is to make a study of the current state and dynamics of some main aspects of the labour market. The sample used for the survey is a stratified random sample without replacement. Stratification criteria used include: economic activity (NACE, Rev. 2), size of the enterprise (according to the number of employees) and regional breakdown (28 districts, NUTS3).

Annex