Eurozone Salary Growth Slows to 2.44% in Q2 2026
The European Central Bank (ECB) has released data showing that the rate of increase in agreed salaries in the eurozone moderated in the second quarter of 2026, reaching a year-on-year growth of 2.44%.
This is lower than the 2.56% recorded in the first three months of the year and represents the smallest annual increase since the third quarter of the previous year, when wages rose by 1.95%. Although this recent growth rate is still far from the historical maximum of 5.55% seen in the third quarter of 2024, it remains above the ECB's projected increases of 2.3% for 2026 and 2.7% for the first quarter of 2027.
ECB President Christine Lagarde emphasized that wage growth is expected to remain moderate in the coming quarters, with a focus on how rising energy prices will impact inflation expectations and the economy's overall behavior.