Healthy salary increases for IDA members

We have put the time of galloping inflation behind us. And this can be seen in members' salary development in 2024.

In the public sector, the implementation of the OK24 collective agreement means that members as a whole have received average salary increases of 7.9 per cent in a period where inflation has been at 2.2 per cent. Overall, members have seen an average real wage increase of 5.7 per cent.

State sector employees have seen the largest average increase with 8.4 per cent. In the municipal and regional areas, the average salary increase will be 7.0 per cent in 2024.

Log in and see IDA’s salary statistics 2024

Large real wage increase for public sector employees

The real wage development in the public sector in 2024 marks a significant recovery in purchasing power. In 2022, public sector members had a negative real wage development of -3.4% and a very moderate real wage increase last year of 0.8% on average.

For members in the private sector, real wage growth was more moderate at 4.2 per cent, with an average increase of 5.5 per cent, while inflation during the reporting period was 1.3 per cent.

Large salary increases reflect a red-hot labour market

Salary developments reflect a hot labour market for engineers, IT specialists and science graduates.

'Unemployment is low and has been for a long time, and we educate far too few people in these vital fields. And when goods are scarce, the price goes up.'

Anders Overvad, Chief Economist at IDA

‘Particularly in the public sector, the increases are noticeable this year. These are the largest average real wage increases in the public sector in the last 20 years,’ says Anders Overvad, Chief Economist at IDA.

‘Last year, private sector members received the highest average salary increases since the financial crisis. If we include this year's increase, we're talking about a real wage increase of almost 10 per cent on average in two years. That's a solid increase in salaries,’ he says.

Salary increases are not a problem for competitiveness

Anders Overvad points out that pay developments for IDA members are largely in line with developments in large parts of the rest of the private labour market. And the fact that inflation has been brought under control is not only good for the recovery of members' purchasing power. Any talk of wage-price spirals and shaken competitiveness due to wage developments can be dismissed.

‘High wage increases are not a problem for the competitiveness of Danish companies. Among many of our trading partners, salaries have risen just as much if not more, so competitiveness is not just about salary levels. It's just as much about the skills and abilities of employees,’ he says.