Average Czech wages rose 7.1% in 2019, with Prague crossing 44,000 crowns monthly

Wages rose significantly again in 2019. The average Czech nominal wage in 2019 reached 34,125 CZK, with a year-on-year increase of CZK 2,257, or 7.1%. Consumer prices grew by 2.8% year on year, meaning that wages increased by 4.2% in real terms, according to the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ)

In the fourth quarter of 2019, the average gross monthly wage for a full-time equivalent employee in the Czech economy increased by 6.7% compared to Q4 2018. In real terms, wages grew by 3.6%.

The average gross monthly wage in Q4 2019 was 36,144 CZK, which was 2,274 CZK more than in Q4 2018. During that time, consumer prices grew by 3.0%, meaning wages increased by 3.6% in real terms. The wage volume grew 7.0% and the number of employees increased by 0.3%.

Compared to the third quarter of 2019, the seasonally adjusted average wage in Q4 2019 increased by 1.6%.

Prague had the highest average wage, 44,237 CZK in Q4 2019, up 2,258 CZK or 5.4% compared to the same time in 2018. The lowest wage was in the Karlovy Vary region, at 31, 811 up 6.8% year on year.

The average gross monthly nominal wage is a share of wage funds, including overtime and bonuses, for one employee per month. It does not indicate what wage one concrete employee has. Statistics show that roughly two-thirds of employees have a wage below the national average.

From gross wages, employers pay premiums for health insurance, social security and income tax advances. The employees are paid net wages, which are lower than the gross wage.

The median wage is the employee wage in the middle of the wage distribution. It means that one half of the wages is lower and the other half is higher than the median wage.

The median wage in Q4 2019 was 31,202 CZK and increased by 6.6% compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. The male median wage reached 33,814 CZK and the female one was 28,481 CZK. Some 80 percent of employees earned wages between 15,365 CZK to 58.398 CZK.