Inflation wipes out wage growth in 2022
Higher gas, oil, car and rental prices led to exceptional inflation at the end of 2022. Due to the adjustment of nominal wages to inflation, the purchasing power of wages fell.
The value of money has gone down.
Symbolfoto: Keystone
In Switzerland, wages rose last year, but inflation immediately wiped out the extra money in Swiss people’s wallets. What remains is a loss of purchasing power.
According to calculations by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), nominal wages rose by an average of 0.9 percent in 2022, according to a statement on Monday. In the last estimate in late autumn, an increase of 1.1 percent was estimated.
For many workers, wage increases have been eaten up by inflation, particularly due to rising rents and energy prices. Including average annual inflation of +2.8 percent, real wages fell by 1.9 percent.
This means that further losses in purchasing power are becoming apparent in Switzerland. In 2021, nominal wages fell by 0.2 percent and in real terms the fall was 0.8 percent. Back then, too, inflation was the main reason for the decline.
Significant industry differences
In the various sectors of the economy, there are sometimes significant differences in wage development. In the industrial sector, nominal wages rose by an average of 0.7 percent last year, somewhat less than in the economy as a whole.
What: BFS
The FSO observed the strongest increase in the secondary sector in “coking and petroleum processing, manufacture of chemical and pharmaceutical products” at +4.0 percent. This is followed by “Mechanical and vehicle construction” (+2.0%) and the area “Mining and quarrying, energy and water supply, waste disposal” (+1.2%).
At the other end of the ranking, for example, were the sectors “manufacture of rubber and plastic goods, processing of stone and earth” (-2.2%) and “manufacture of data processing equipment and electrical equipment and clocks” (-0.6%).
“Construction” recorded a moderate increase of 0.4 percent and in “manufacturing of food and tobacco products” nominal wages remained unchanged.
More wages for insurance companies
In the service sector, nominal wages increased by an average of 1.0 percent, with the largest increases being recorded by “insurance” (+2.7%) and the “information technology and information services” sector (+2.4%). In contrast, nominal wages fell in “postal, courier and express services” (-0.3%) and “art, entertainment and recreation” (-1.4%).
There were also differences in terms of wage development according to gender: According to the BFS, the nominal wages of men rose more sharply than those of women (+0.8%) at an average of 1.1 percent.
SDA/nag
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