Basic Wages Increased By An Average Of 6.6% In 2020

Basic wages have increased throughout 2020 by 6.6% and are still rising.

The lowest wages in Iceland in 2020 were in accommodation and restaurant operations but also in waste management, and work in water and sewerage. On the other hand, regular monthly salaries and total salaries were highest in financial and insurance activities.

These statistics come from Landsbankinn’s new Hagsjá, which is based on figures from Statistics Iceland.

Slowly but surely on the rise

The shortening of the working week has some effect on total wages, which rose by 5.3% between 2020 and 2021, while basic wages rose by 6.6%. The wage index rose similarly, or by 6.3%.

On average, the number of hours that employees are paid decreased by three per month in 2020, mainly in the general labour market as the reduction in working hours in the public sector did not take effect until this year.

Not so minimum

All wage increases in 2020 were ISK increases, but the increase was by far the largest in hotel and restaurant operations, 12 to 13 per cent. The smallest increase was in financial and insurance activities, as well as in trade and repairs.

Regular monthly salaries in 2020 averaged ISK 670,000 and total salaries ISK 794,000, which is mainly due to overtime.

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