Nominal wage growth continues to decline

Country’s combined nominal wage rate of agriculture, industry and services in the last fiscal year (FY20) increased by the slowest pace in the last five years.

Wage Rate Index (WRI), released by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), showed that the index increased by 6.35 percent in FY20 against the growth rate of 6.40 percent in FY19 and 6.45 percent in FY18.

It also showed that the WRI increased by 6.50 percent in FY17 and 6.52 percent in FY16.

WRI registered 4.64 percent growth in FY15 which was the lowest increase in general nominal wage in the last six years.

BBS WRI is intended to measure the movement of nominal wages of low paid skilled and unskilled labour over time in different sectors of the economy.

BBS data also showed that though general or national WRI for agriculture registered higher growth than the previous year, the index for industry and services posted lower rates of growth compare to the past year.

Average nominal wage in agriculture increased by 6.48 percent in FY20 which was 6.42 percent in FY19, according to BBS.

The nominal wage in industrial sector registered 5.99 percent growth in FY20 which was 6.22 percent in FY19.

Again, the WRI for services sector posted 6.41 percent in the last fiscal year against 6.69 percent in FY19.

Currently the WRI measures average monthly nominal wage rate of low paid skilled and un-skilled labourers in 11 occupations from agriculture sector, 22 occupations from industry sector and 11 occupations from services sector.