Interest rate rise expected on the back of wage growth

Such a rapid growth of remuneration and employment has not been witnessed in the Polish economy for years. In October the increase stood at 11% on an annual basis, which is above the 9.6% expected by analysts. Employment also increased by 5%, where analysts expected 4.7%. "This data shows that situation on the labor market is difficult, while problems acquiring workers are still one of the obstacles hindering developing businesses. We anticipate that a similar trend will be witnessed for the following two-three quarters," said Marcin Mróz, chief economist at Fortis Bank. Other experts believe that such a strong growth confirms the risk of inflation growth due to increasing labor costs, a situation similar across the Baltic states. "There, a rapid growth of salaries contributed to inflation increase. This is a clear signal for the Monetary Policy Council (RPP) that it is necessary to increase interest rates. I believe that in November it will increase by 0.25 base points, while the following one will take place at the beginning of next year," said Jacek Wiśniewski, chief economist at Raiffeisen Bank Polska. (Puls Biznesu, p. 7) M.M.