Employees and average wages and salaries - Second quarter of 2026

The number of employees under labour contract at the end of June 2026 increased by 14.8 thousand, or by 0.6% compared to the end of March 2026, and reached 2.37 million according to the preliminary data of the National Statistical Institute (NSI). The highest increase was observed in the following economic activities: ‘Accommodation and food service activities’ - by 23.9%, and ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’ - by 5.0%. The highest decrease of the number of employees - by 2.0%, was recorded in the economic activity ‘Manufacturing’.

At the end of June 2026, compared to June 2025, the number of employees under labour contract decreased by 16.7 thousand, or by 0.7%. The highest decrease in absolute figures was observed in the economic activities ‘Manufacturing’ - by 19.4 thousand, ‘Administrative and support service activities’ - by 3.5 thousand, and ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’ - by 3.1 thousand,  and the highest increase was in ‘Human health and social work activities’ - by 10.8 thousand, and in ‘Accommodation and food service activities’ - by 1.5 thousand. In percentages, the highest decrease at the end of June 2026, compared to June 2025, was in the economic activity ‘Real estate activities’ - by 5.6%, and in ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’ - by 4.8%, as the highest increase was reported in ‘Human health and social work activities’ - by 5.2%.

The average monthly gross wages and salaries of the employees under labour contract in April 2026 was 1 476 EUR, in May 2026 - 1 434 EUR, and in June 2026 - 1 421 EUR.

In the second quarter of 2026, in comparison with the first quarter of 2026, the average monthly wages and salaries increased by 2.6% and reached 1 444 EUR. The highest increase in the wages and salaries was reported in: ‘Mining and quarrying’ - by 14.8%, ‘Construction’ - by 6.5%, and in ‘Education’ - by 6.3%.

Compared to the second quarter of 2025, the average monthly wages and salaries in the second quarter of 2026 rose by 9.8%. The highest growth rates were recorded in the following economic activities: ‘Mining and quarrying’ - by 24.0%, ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’ - by 19.5%, and ‘Other service activities’ - by 15.7%.

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

• ‘Information and communication’ - 3 079 EUR;
• ‘Financial and insurance activities’ - 2 140 EUR;
• ‘Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply’ - 2 036 EUR.

The lowest wages and salaries were recorded in:

• ‘Accommodation and food service activities’ - 918 EUR;
• ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’ - 1 031 EUR;
• ‘Other service activities’ - 1 053 EUR.

In comparison with a year earlier, the average monthly wages and salaries in the public sector grew by 4.8% and in the private sector - by 11.5%.

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