Analytics, Estonia, Financial Services, Investments, Wages

Arumäe said that this is a proof that the Estonian labour market is flexible, and the economy is capable of adjusting through the labour market.

"Foreign analysts and investors should take it as a fairly positive sign since it shows that the economy has started to adjust through internal deflation," she said.

Statistics Estonia reported yesterday, on May 25, that in the first quarter of 2009 the average monthly gross wages were 12,147 kroons or 1.5% lower than a year earlier. Since 1993, the average monthly gross wages decreased for the first time as compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

The growth of real wages, taking into account the influence of the change in the consumer price index, continued decreasing in the first quarter. In the second and the third quarters of 2008 real wages increased slightly over three% in Estonia, but in the fourth quarter real wages decreased by 1.3%, while in the first quarter of 2009 real wages decreased by 4.5%. Compared to the end of March 2008, the number of employed persons diminished 6.7% as of the end of March.

The average gross wages were 12,207 kroons in January, 11,884 kroons in February and 12,373 kroons in March.