Employees and average wages and salaries - First quarter of 2026

The number of employees under labour contract at the end of March 2026 increased by 9.8 thousand, or by 0.4%, as compared to the end of December 2025, and reached 2.35 million according to the preliminary data of the National Statistical Institute (NSI). The highest increase was observed in the economic activities: ‘Professional, scientific and technical activities’ and ‘Other service activities’- by 2.7%, ‘Accommodation and food service activities’ - by 2.3%, and ‘Construction’ - by 2.0%. The highest decrease of the number of employees - by 1.4%, was recorded in the economic activity ‘Financial and insurance activities’.

At the end of March 2026, as compared to March 2025, the number of employees under labour contract decreased by 0.4 thousand. The highest decrease in absolute figures was observed in economic activities ‘Manufacturing’ - by 14.6 thousand, ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’ - by 4.6 thousand, and ‘Administrative and support service activities’ - by 1.6 thousand, and the highest increase was in ‘Human health and social work activities’ - by 12.6 thousand, and in ‘Construction’ - by 2.9 thousand. In percentages, the highest decrease at the end of March 2026 as compared to March 2025 was in the economic activity ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’ - by 7.1%, and in ‘Manufacturing’ and ‘Real estate activities’ - by 3.3%, as the highest increase was reported in ‘Human health and social work activities’ - by 6.2%.

The average monthly gross wages and salaries of the employees under labour contract in January waere 1 381 EUR, in February - 1 365 EUR, and in March 2026 - 1 475 EUR.

In the first quarter of 2026, in comparison with the fourth quarter of 2025, the average monthly wages and salaries increased by 2.8% and reached 1 407 EUR. The highest increase in wages and salaries was reported in: ‘Financial and insurance activities’ - by 9.7%, ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’ - by 8.4%, and in ‘Information and communication’ - by 8.2%.

Compared to the first quarter of 2025, the average monthly wages and salaries in the first quarter of 2026 rose by 12.7%. The highest growth rates were recorded in the economic activities: ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’ - by 21.1%, ‘Electricity, gas,steam and air conditioning supply’ - by 19.1%, and ‘Other service activities’ - by 18.9%.

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

• ‘Information and communication’ - 3 176 EUR;
• ‘Financial and insurance activities’ - 2 226 EUR;
• ‘Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply’ - 2 060 EUR.

The lowest wages and salaries were recorded in:

• ‘Accommodation and food service activities’ - 870 EUR;
• ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’ - 981 EUR;
• ‘Other service activities’ - 1 014 EUR.

In comparison with a year earlier, the average monthly wages and salaries in the public sector grew by 15.3% and in the private sector - by 11.8%.

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