Nicosia: Average hourly earnings of full-time employees in Cyprus increased to £12.23 in 2022, marking a 13.4% rise compared to 2018 when they were £10.78.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the data was revealed in the Earnings Survey for 2022 released by the Statistical Service of Cyprus.
The survey highlighted historical earnings data, showing average hourly earnings were £10.46 in 2014 and £11.32 in 2010. For full-time male employees, average hourly earnings were £12.84, while female employees earned £11.52, resulting in a gender pay gap of 10.2%. From 2018, earnings increased by 13.3% for men and 13.5% for women, slightly narrowing the pay gap from 10.4% in 2018.
Median hourly earnings, which offer a more accurate picture of earnings distribution than averages, were £8.98 in 2022. Median earnings for men were £9.47 and for women £8.42, reflecting a 9.8% increase compared to 2018. Both men and women saw a 9.9% increase in median earnings.
In terms of occupational categories, 'Senior Managers and Administrators' had the highest average hourly earnings at £31.08, followed by 'Professionals and Other Specialists' at £17.71. Median hourly earnings for these groups were £26.72 and £14.61, respectively.
Conversely, the lowest hourly earnings were found in 'Elementary Occupations, Manual Workers and Small-Scale Self-Employed', with averages at £7.07 and medians at £6.35. 'Service and Sales Workers' followed closely, with averages at £7.71 and medians at £6.78. 'Skilled Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Workers' averaged £6.48, with a median of £7.18.
In terms of economic sectors, 'Education' led with the highest average hourly earnings for full-time employees at £20.44 and median earnings of £20.35. This was followed by 'Information and Communication', with averages at £19.26 and medians at £15.98, and 'Financial and Insurance Activities', at £18.62 and £15.74, respectively.
The lowest earnings were seen in 'Accommodation and Food Service Activities', with averages at £7.68 and medians at £6.70. Median earnings showed that half of full-time employees with Cypriot nationality earned less than £9.65 per hour. Employees from other EU countries earned less than £7.15 per hour, while those from non-EU countries earned less than £7.06 per hour.
On average, Cypriot employees earned £12.66 per hour, similar to employees from non-EU countries at £12.61 per hour. Employees from other EU countries averaged £9.80 per hour. In the 'Senior Managers and Administrators' category, employees from non-EU countries earned the highest average at £40.74, followed by EU employees at £34.58, and Cypriots at £29.19 per hour.
The highest proportion of employees earning less than £5.00 per hour was among non-EU workers, at 14.4%. This group also recorded the highest proportion of employees earning £25.00 or more per hour, at 13.7%.