Wages have increased by 2.3% on average from the previous quarter according to the quarterly wage index in 4th quarter 2015. Annual increase from the 4th quarter 2014 was 9.0% on average, 8.9% in the private sector and 9.0% in the public sector. The annual increase was 10.2% for the central government employees and 7.6% for the local government employees.
Largest wage increase for General, machine and specialized workers
From previous quarter, wages by occupational group have increased by 1.1% for Craft workers to 3.1% for Technicians and associate professionals. The annual change of the wage index ranged from 5.9% for Managers to 11.0% for General, machine and specialized workers.
Wages in the economic activities Financial intermediation increased by 3.9% from previous quarter while wages in Construction increased by 1.1%. Annual change ranged from 10.3% in Transport, storage and communication to 7.7% in Financial intermediation.
Collective agreements
Collective agreements between local and central government employers and their negotiating parties in the Icelandic labour market affect the wage index in the 4th quarter of 2015.
Agreement between the Confederation of Icelandic Bank and Finance Employees and SA-Business Iceland stipulated a wage increase in October 2015.
About the wage index
The wage index is a quarterly index and shows the changes of regular hourly wages. Data for the private sector are published by occupational group and economic activity. Data for the public sector are published by administrative level. Employees in the public sector work for the municipalities and the central government. Other employees belong to the private sector.