Malta – EU: gap widens - lower wages, higher prices

Earlier on this week Eurostat confirmed that the hourly wage rate in Malta, already less than half that of the euro are, was even growing much less than the EU average. This means that the gap between average hourly wages in Malta and that of the EU is widening even more.

Between 2008 and 2011, according to Eurostat the average hourly wage rate in Malta increased by only 70c whereas the EU average increased by €1.50c.

Between April and June 2012 the hourly wage rate in Malta grew by just 1% over the same three months of 2011 when the EU average wage increased by 1.8%.

At the same time in the same period while inflation in Malta stood at 4%, the EU average inflation rate was 2.6%.

Thus while Malta’s hourly wage rate was growing at a slower pace than that of the EU, prices of goods and services in Malta were increasing at a faster rate than those of the EU and also four times faster than the increase in wages.

All this confirms that living standards are taking a greater hit than the EU average and confirms that the decline in the purchasing power of wages decreased by €12.28 per week between 2008 and 2011.