Private companies in Romania taking part in the PwC PayWell 2026 study expect base salaries to rise by an average of 5.65 percent in 2027, following increases of 6.67 percent in 2026 and 7.47 percent in 2025. The data point to a continued slowdown in salary growth.

This slowdown comes against a difficult economic backdrop. According to the National Institute of Statistics (INS), Romania’s GDP fell by 0.7 percent year on year in the first half of 2026 (unadjusted data), and the economy stagnated in the second quarter compared with the first.

At the same time, although inflation has eased in recent months, it continues to erode employees’ purchasing power and put pressure on companies to adjust salaries. The average inflation rate over the past 12 months stands at 9.5 percent, above this year’s average base salary increase. The National Bank of Romania (BNR) expects inflation to fall to 6.1 percent by the end of this year and to 3.4 percent by the end of 2027. If these forecasts prove accurate, the salary increases companies expect for next year would outpace inflation.

“Slower salary growth does not mean that pressures on the labour market have disappeared, but that they are changing in nature. Salary growth in recent years has not been backed by higher productivity. Romania is becoming less and less competitive in terms of labor costs. Even though demand for staff has cooled along with the economy, demographic pressures are structural and will become acute again once growth resumes. A sustainable balance can only be restored by raising skill levels, which can support productivity and competitiveness in the long term, especially in a technology-driven economy,” said Oana Munteanu, Director, Workforce Leader, PwC Romania.

Significant differences between sectors

In 2026, the largest increases in average base salary were in business process outsourcing and shared service centers (BPO/SSC), at 8.19 percent, followed by banking, at 6.82 percent. At the other end of the scale, technology, which led the ranking in 2025, recorded the smallest increase this year, at 2.88 percent. However, it remains in the sector with the highest average gross monthly salary in the study, at RON 21,744.

For 2027, technology companies expect the largest increase in average salary, at 6.56 percent, followed by retail companies, at 6.40 percent.

By business function, the largest salary increases in 2026 were in IT (10.66 percent), legal (9.47 percent) and strategic planning (9.20 percent). These functions exist in companies across many sectors and are also the best paid in the sample.

The gender pay gap is narrowing

The pay gap between women and men is mainly explained by how they are distributed across pay levels. Women make up 67 percent of the employees covered by the study and 73 percent of the lowest-paid quarter of employees. In the highest-paid quarter, their share falls to 58 percent, below their share of the sample as a whole. This shows that women are concentrated at the lower end of the pay scale.

Overall, the gap in favor of men is widest for high salaries (11.9 percent) and drops below 5 percent for mid-range salaries (4.7 percent). The gap is narrowing compared with previous years: for high salaries, it was 14 percent in 2024 and 12.9 percent in 2025. There were no significant changes for mid-range and low salaries.

The largest gender pay gaps are still found in banking and technology, although both have narrowed since 2025. In industry and hospitality, women are paid the same as men, or slightly more.

How salaries vary by age and performance

In the sample, employees aged 26 to 43 have the highest salaries, closely followed by those aged 44 to 54. Pay is lower both for employees at the start of their careers, which is explained by their level of seniority, and for those over 55, a group that unfortunately has fewer opportunities for career progression and job mobility.

According to the study, employees rated as high performers earn 18–27 percent more than their peers.

Regional differences remain significant

Bucharest-Ilfov has the highest average gross monthly salary in the sample, at RON 17,239. This is almost double the level in Muntenia, around 80 percent higher than in Moldavia and 52 percent higher than in Banat and Transylvania.

Regional gaps are wider for management positions and narrower for operational roles, largely because management roles are concentrated in the capital.

Extra days off top the list of benefits

Extra days off are the most common benefit offered by the companies in the study (81 percent), followed by meal vouchers (78 percent). Other widespread benefits include private healthcare plans and free coffee, and soft drinks.

Compared with 2025, fewer companies now offer meal vouchers, reimbursement of holiday expenses, cultural activities, reimbursement for glasses and gym memberships. By contrast, more companies offer in-office massages, tech devices, additional maternity leave benefits and coaching.

The study is based on data from more than 140 participating companies in seven sectors, covering over 198,000 employees and more than 1,400 distinct job positions.