Salary data will be published in the new way. Now they cover less than 40% of the working population.

We had to wait a long time for this. But this year, the Central Statistical Office will start publishing the average salary in the economy. Thanks to this, the period of dominance of the somewhat misleading “national average” will end.

-Who earns that much?! – This is the usual reaction of many readers to the news that the “average gross salary in the corporate sector” was about 8,000 PLN. And although we explain every month how the Central Statistical Office calculates it and why the “national average” cannot be considered a “typical” salary in Poland, the feeling of disbelief remains. However, it is supposed to end this year.

– Later this year we will begin publishing new data on wages in the national economy, in particular data expected by data recipients. Average monthly salary
– This announcement was posted on the Central Bureau of Statistics website on Thursday..

Currently, statistics on “Average wages and employment in the enterprise sector” are published every month, which come from the “Business Report” (DG-1). As part of this report, entities employing 50 or more people are audited using the full method, and entities employing 10 to 49 people are audited using the representative method. We wrote more about this in the article “Who earns the most? Salaries in Poland – how does the Central Statistical Office calculate them?” [Tłumaczymy]”

Therefore, the figures that are circulated in the Polish media every month
Only covers non-financial companies employing more than 9 employees.This study does not include, among others: public administration, education, health care, and small and micro enterprises. These statistics cover less than 40% of the working population.The remaining 60% is almost under the radar.

Until now, the Central Statistical Office has published more complete statistics on the Polish labour market every two years, with a delay of about a year. The latest data was published on October 12, 2023. We have the average wages available and their distribution by gender and profession. Therefore, the data exists, but it is very late and is not published often.

The primary source of information on wages currently is the W.Wages in the national economy,” the Central Bureau of Statistics reported. On the basis of these data, it is not possible to provide local wage measures (including average) and to clarify the distribution of wages in aggregates related to the demographic and social characteristics of employees, for example, gender and age. They also do not make it possible to provide salary measures at low levels of aggregation – as Polish statisticians explain.

The new survey aims to provide monthly information on the average and median salaries. The median – or mean – value is the value that divides the study population into two equal groups. So, for example, if the average salary in Poland is PLN 6,000, half of the employees will earn more and the other half will earn less than this value.

In the case of data with an asymmetric distribution (such as salary data), the mean is generally higher than the median.because it is highly exaggerated by observations. In this case, there is a relatively small number of very well-paid employees (chiefs, managers, important specialists, etc.). For this reason, it is very important to see in the labor market data not only the average, but also the distribution of wages – at best, or at least the fifth.

The new data from the Central Statistics Office will include the deciles of wages and will also take into account gender, age, GDP division and employer size. Geographically, we will see earnings in individual municipalities and counties. But what makes matters worse is that the new report will not be published until about five months after the end of the month in question.

Economists will be eagerly awaiting new material for analysis. Another advantage is that the new report will be prepared without involving the private sector. Statisticians from the Central Statistical Office will have to use administrative sources (the specific sources of which have not been disclosed). The study is intended to cover all entities of the national economy, including those employing up to 9 people.

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