PwC PayWell: Salary growth in Romania’s private sector still slow

Romania Insider · 20.10.2026, 10:22:00

Private companies in Romania expect base salaries to rise by an average of 5.65% in 2027, following increases of 6.67% in 2026 and 7.47% in 2025, continuing a slowdown in wage growth, according to a PwC PayWell 2026 study. The slowdown comes against a difficult economic backdrop. According to the National Institute of Statistics (INS), Romania’s GDP fell by 0.7% year on year in the first half of 2026 (unadjusted data), and the economy stagnated in the second quarter compared with the first. At the same time, although inflation has eased in recent months, it continues to erode employees’ purchasing power and put pressure on companies to adjust salaries. The average inflation rate over the past 12 months stands at 9.5%, above this year’s average base salary increase. However, the National Bank of Romania (BNR) expects inflation to fall to 6.1% by the end of this year and to 3.4% by the end of 2027. If these forecasts prove accurate, the salary increases companies expect for next year would outpace inflation. “Salary growth in recent years has not been backed by higher productivity. Romania is becoming less and less competitive in terms of labor costs. Even though demand for staff has cooled along with the economy, demographic pressures are structural and will become acute again once growth resumes. A sustainable balance can only be restored by raising skill levels, which can support productivity and competitiveness in the long term, especially in a technology-driven economy,” said Oana Munteanu, Director, Workforce Leader, PwC Romania. In 2026, the largest increases in average base salary were in business process outsourcing and shared service centers (BPO/SSC), at 8.19%, followed by banking, at 6.82%. At the other end of the scale, technology, which led the ranking in 2025, recorded the smallest increase this year, at 2.88%. However, it remains the sector with the highest average gross monthly salary in the study, at RON 21,744. For 2027, technology companies expect