BC creates indicator to monitor negotiated salary adjustments

The Central Bank (BC) will publish a new set of indicators on salary adjustments negotiated in collective labor agreements on a monthly basis. The initiative should expand the capacity to monitor labor market conditions and their effects on inflation.

Based on information from the Collective Labor Negotiation System (Mediator), of the Ministry of Labor and Employment, the indicators will show the percentages of negotiated adjustments and the proportion of agreements that resulted in increases above, below or in line with inflation.

The statistics will include nominal adjustments, which represent the increase in wages in current values, and real adjustments, which discount inflation and indicate whether there has been an effective gain in purchasing power for workers.

The new database will allow the BC to more accurately monitor the behavior of salary negotiations and assess how labor market conditions influence salary dynamics.

A study released by the BC shows that real salary gains tend to be more frequent in periods of a strong job market and low unemployment rate.

According to the monetary authority, this movement was observed between 2012 and 2014 and reappeared from 2023 onwards, when the proportion of collective agreements with adjustments above inflation increased.

According to the analysis, the negotiated adjustments maintain a strong relationship with inflation measured by the National Consumer Price Index (INPC).

Although there is no legal obligation to fully replace inflationary losses, accumulated inflation remains one of the main references for workers and employers during negotiations.

Additional tool

The regular publication of indicators will expand the set of information available for society to monitor the evolution of salaries negotiated in the country and their relationship with inflation.

The data covers collective agreements from all regions and the main sectors of the economy, such as agriculture, industry, construction, commerce and services, and will be available in the Central Bank's Time Series Management System (SGS).