MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Wages in Uruguay grow 6.95% year-on-year, although real wages fall in September

Inflation deducted, salaries posted a 0.31% setback

According to a report from Uruguay National Statistics Institute (INE) released Thursday in Montevideo, wages grew 6.95% in the last twelve months. The Average Wage Index (AWI) had a monthly variation of 0.07% in September for a 6.13% accumulated so far in 2024. In terms of categories, the private sector grew the most, with 7.20%, while the public sector showed an increase of 6.50%.

September's figures were driven in the private sector by increases in “Wholesale and retail trade; repair of vehicles” (0.025%), “Financial intermediation” (0.010%), and “Transportation, storage and communications” (0.009%). In the public sector, the monthly 0.06% variation stemmed from adjustments in “Central Governments” (0.02%), “Public Enterprises” (-0.01%) and “Departmental Governments” (0.05%), the INE explained.

The Real Average Wage Index (the difference between the AWI and inflation) yielded a monthly variation of -0.31%, as a result of the changes in the private sector (-0.30%) and the public sector (-0.31%). The Real Average Wage Index accumulated an increase of 1.64% so far this year and of 1.55% in the mobile year ending in September, when inflation stood at 0.37% for a real wage increase of 1.12% compared to August.

On a year-on-year basis, the General Index reached 476.79 points. On the other hand, the Average Index of Nominal Wages registered a monthly variation of 0.09%, a cumulative annual variation of 5.83% and a variation in the last months of 6.75%. At the same time of the year in 2023, the monthly variation was 0.16%, the annual variation was 7.75% and the year-on-year variation was 8.21%.