The latest observation for annual growth in negotiated wages in the euro area, in Q2 2022, is 2.14%, down from 2.84% in Q1.26 From the perspective of understanding both current and future wage dynamics, none of these measures are perfect, with potential issues relating to composition, coverage and representativeness.27 Another drawback with the ECB negotiated wage series is that it tends to lag economic developments by several quarters.
Therefore, to complement these official wage data, as well as to get a more timely and forward-looking picture wage developments, we also analyse trends in posted wages in job ads using data from the job site Indeed.28 In the current tight labour market data, wages of (potential) new hires have received a lot of attention, both as a leading indicator of average wage growth in the economy and as an indicator of labour market tightness.29 The wage tracker was built to be responsive.