OECD payroll data is more of a challenge for business than for the government

Real wages down by 7.5 percent: Italians have lost their thirteenth salary. Bonomi lashes out against the ECB’s policy, but does not say how to combat the inflation that affects workers. The solution is not simple, but passes through an agreement with the unions on contract renewals and productivity

In Italy there is a big salary issue, but it is by no means an easy solution. The OECD’s Employment outlook 2023, presented yesterday, describes a growth trend in nominal wages lower than inflation: the loss of purchasing power is general, but in Italy it is much more intense. On average, in the 1st quarter of 2023 real wages decreased by 3.8% compared to the previous year in 34 OECD countries, while in Italy they fell by 7.3%. Almost double. The fall reaches -7.5% if the period prior to the pandemic is considered as a reference. In practice, Italian workers have seen one of the thirteen monthly salaries received in a year vanish, consumed by inflation. This is the sharpest drop in wages among major OECD economies. Even the projections for the near future are not so rosy. According to the OECD, nominal wages will increase by 3.7% in 2023 and 3.5% in 2024, but these are increases that cumulatively will still be lower than inflation which is estimated at 6.4% in 2023 and 3% in 2024. At the end of the two-year period, real wages will have taken another small step backwards.