Productivity increases above last five years' salary increases

Labour productivity for the overall economy saw a higher increase compared with the gross average salary in the 2003-2007 period, after it posted a 175% growth rate over the last five years, compared with over 150% growth rate of the nominal gross salary, according to the National Statistics Institute (INS). The INS has started, as of this year, to calculate labour productivity per capita for the overall economy, not just for industrial sectors. Statistics do not confirm the concerns of the National Bank, which warned that salary increases had been higher than the advance of labour productivity in the last few years. Last year, the growth rate of labour productivity for the overall economy stood at 17.8%, left behind by the growth rate of salaries (22.6%) in 2007, according to INS data. Labour productivity advanced by 30.5% in 2003, 26.9% in 2004, 18.7% in 2005, 18.9% in 2006 and 17.8% in 2007. “The calculation is based on the methodology and techniques developed in cooperation with EU member states and Eurostat (the EU statistical office), and by applying SEC 95 norms, to determine the working population,” said Vergil Voineag, president of the INS.