Average hourly earnings of full-time employees in Cyprus rose to €12.23 in 2022, marking an increase of 13.4% compared with 2018, when they stood at €10.78, according to the Earnings Survey for 2022 released by CySTAT.
The corresponding figures for previous years were €10.46 in 2014 and €11.32 in 2010.
Average hourly earnings for full-time male employees were calculated at €12.84, compared with €11.52 for women, resulting in a gender pay gap of 10.2%. Compared with 2018, average hourly earnings increased by 13.3% for men and 13.5% for women, while the pay gap in 2018 stood at 10.4%.
Median hourly earnings, which provide a more representative picture of earnings distribution than averages, amounted to €8.98 in 2022. Median earnings were €9.47 for men and €8.42 for women, reflecting an increase of 9.8% compared with 2018. The corresponding increases for men and women were both 9.9%.
In 2022, the occupational category with the highest overall average hourly earnings for full-time employees was “Senior Managers and Administrators” at €31.08 per hour, followed by “Professionals and Other Specialists” at €17.71. Median hourly earnings for these categories were €26.72 and €14.61 respectively.
The lowest hourly earnings were recorded among “Elementary Occupations, Manual Workers and Small-Scale Self-Employed”, with average earnings of €7.07 and median earnings of €6.35. They were followed by “Service and Sales Workers”, with average earnings of €7.71 and median earnings of €6.78, as well as “Skilled Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Workers” — a category with a relatively small number of employees in the survey — with average earnings of €6.48 and median earnings of €7.18 per hour.
By economic activity
The economic activity sector with the highest overall hourly earnings for full-time employees was “Education”, where average earnings reached €20.44 per hour and median earnings €20.35. This was followed by “Information and Communication”, with average earnings of €19.26 and median earnings of €15.98, and “Financial and Insurance Activities”, with average earnings of €18.62 and median earnings of €15.74 per hour.
The lowest hourly earnings were observed in the sector “Accommodation and Food Service Activities”, with average earnings of €7.68 and median earnings of €6.70 per hour.
Based on median hourly earnings, half of full-time employees with Cypriot nationality earned less than €9.65 per hour. Employees with nationality from other European Union countries earned less than €7.15 per hour, while those from non-EU countries earned less than €7.06 per hour.
On average, employees with Cypriot nationality earned €12.66 per hour, broadly in line with employees from non-EU countries, who earned €12.61 per hour. Employees with nationality from other EU countries earned an average of €9.80 per hour.
In the highest-paid occupational category, “Senior Managers and Administrators”, employees from non-EU countries received the highest average hourly earnings at €40.74. They were followed by employees from EU countries at €34.58 per hour, while employees with Cypriot nationality earned an average of €29.19 per hour.
The highest proportion of employees earning less than €5.00 per hour was recorded among workers from non-EU countries, at 14.4%. The same group also recorded the highest proportion of employees earning €25.00 or more per hour, at 13.7%.
(Source: CNA)
