|
Although labor markets are tight, employers have not raised
wages in pace with inflation in 31 out of the 34 countries
tracked in the Paris-based OECD's 2023 Employment Outlook.
After taking inflation into account, wages have fallen 3.8% in
the first quarter of 2023 from a year earlier with the drop the
biggest in Hungary at 15.6%, the report said.
While workers have seen high inflation erode their purchasing
power, all countries in the report have seen businesses' profits
grow faster than wages since the pandemic.
"The cost of a living crisis is a cost that has to be shared
between what governments can do, what companies have to do and
what workers have to do," OECD head of labor policy Stefano
Scarpetta told a news conference.
"There is some room in some room in profits to accommodate some
increase in wages without necessarily generating a wage price
spiral," Scarpetta added.
How much wages could be raised would depend country by country
and sectors would also need to be taken into account as well as
profit increases were smaller at small and mid-sized firms, he
said.
(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; editing by David Evans)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
