Inflation hits global wages, down 0.9%, first time in 21st Century
BY BEN EGUZOZIE
Global Wage Report 2022
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Covid-19, inflation blamed for decline
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G20 advanced countries suffered most decline
The ravaging inflation that has had the world on tenterhooks and sent central banks on a tailspin scrambling policy options to to fight it, showed up on the latest global wages data from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) contributing to its negative 0.9 percent century low decline in 2022, the first time in the entire 21st century.
The ILO 2022-23 Global Wage Report, accessed by Business A.M., found that global real monthly wages fell globally, the first time the world witnessed such massive wage fall in a century.
The figures show a clear departure from 2021, when the average annual global real monthly wage growth went up by 1.8 percent and 1.5 percent in 2020.
Main highlights of the Global Wage Report also showed that 2022 real wages declined the most in North America by (minus) -3.2 percent and in the European Union by (minus) -2.4 percent.
The ILO average annual global real monthly wage growth survey measured the world’s average annual real monthly wage growth over a 16-year period of 2006 to 2022.
According to the report, women generally lost more employment than men in 2022 and during the COVID-19 crisis. In fact, since the second quarter of 2020, the global employment of women has been reduced by 1.2 percentage points more than for men, the report added.
This, therefore, put women at a more disadvantaged position on the issue of jobs security than men in the year under review.
Also, the advanced G20 countries experienced (minus) -2.2 percent in real wages in 2022; while the USA and Canada are among countries most affected by inflation, at (minus) -3.2 percent and (minus) -3.4 percent in real wages for the outgoing year (2022).
Among the advanced G20 countries, real wages have declined to minus 2.2 percent. On the other hand, real wages in emerging G20 countries grew by 0.8 percent.
On the real wages decline, the North American region, with Canada and the United States in particular, saw average real wage growth falling to zero in 2021 and dropped to minus 3.2 percent in 2022, the second-lowest mark of any region in the study.
In the European Union, real wages declined to minus 2.4 percent for countries within the European Union in 2022. Also, real wage growth in Latin America and the Caribbean declined to minus 1.7 percent in 2022.
Among advanced G20 countries, real wages have declined to minus 2.2 percent in the period under review.
On the other hand, real wages in emerging G20 countries grew by 0.8 percent. The G20 countries include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the United States of America.
US, Canada most affected by negative real wage growth
The ILO report also indicated that the USA and Canada were among countries most affected by inflation. On real wage growth, the US came off heavily negatively affected with minus 3.2 percent; Canada, its regional neighbour, recorded a minus 3.4 percent. The UK and France experienced minus 0.5 percent and minus 1.7 percent growths, respectively.
According to the ILO data, Hungary experienced the most growth in 2022, as real wages increased by a healthy 12.4 percent. Australia saw 5.0 percent, Serbia (3.5%), and Vietnam (3.4%) were among the countries that experienced the highest real wage growth.
Italy with 5.0 percent, Spain, -3.5 percent, Sweden -3.4 percent, and Canada -3.4 percent, were among the other developed countries hit hard by inflation. The United States narrowly missed out on the bottom-10 with real wages growth declining by minus 3.2 percent.
Top 10 countries in real wage growth (2022)
The world’s top-10 countries with real wage growth in 2022 include: Hungary: 12.4%; Australia: 5.0%; Serbia: 3.5%; Vietnam: 3.4%; Argentina: 2.2%; China: 2.0%; Republic of Korea: 1.1%; China: 0.5%; Finland: 0.4%; and Tajikistan: 0.0%.
Bottom 10 Countries in Real Wage Decline (2022)
On the other hand, the world’s bottom-10 countries in real wage decline in 2022 are: Nicaragua: -7.6%; Poland: -6.9%; Brazil: -6.9%; Czech Republic: -6.8%; Italy: -5.9%; Netherlands: -5.0%; Denmark: -3.5%; Spain: -3.5%; Canada: -3.4% and Sweden: -3.4%.