Gross average salary decreased 8.7% on the month to RON2,138, the data showed.
Staff in the metal mining, wood industry and telecom sectors saw the largest salary decreases in January (down by 20% to 26.5% from December). At the opposite end, Romanians working in the mining sector received a slightly higher pay in January, due to unpaid leaves taken by employees with lower wages or to bonuses granted for increased production.
In January compared with the year-earlier month, Romanian average net salary rose 5.5% in nominal terms. In real terms, the average salary inched down 0.4%. (EUR1=RON4.3615)