Working Colombians have increased their purchasing power by 44%, according to a study carried out by the Association for Human Management (ACRIP).
The study, released on Thursday, claimed that in 2013 the purchasing power of Colombians had increased by 44.78% over the consumer price index (CPI), in comparison with 2012. This means that Colombians will be able to get significantly more bang for their buck.
The study also reported an average increase of 5.4% in salaries nationwide in 2013; an improvement on last year’s increase of 4.03%.
“Colombia’s professionals have made gains in their salaries above the level of inflation and that has been the tendency in the last few years, apart from in 2009,” said the director of the study, Lorenzo Ruiz.
He added that the average increase in salaries has been greater for those professionals at the bottom of the pack than those at the top.
“In the last 10 years the average increase in the salaries of executives and managers of organizations has been lower than the increase [in the salaries] of those workers at the bottom,” he claimed.
The study states that the average salary for a general manager or executive at a large company is over $12,800 per month, while a mid-level professional earns around $2,300 and a lower-level worker $750.
The minimum wage in Colombia is $333 per month. Approximately 58% of the working population – 11.41 million people – have a monthly income at or below the minimum level.
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According to the study, companies in the mining, energy and hydrocarbon sectors have the highest average wages, a fact Ruiz describes as “unsurprising.”
“That’s where the biggest companies are concentrated: the multinationals,” he said.
The highest earners are located in Colombia’s two biggest cities, Bogota and Medellin, thanks to the high concentration of large companies and contracted workers.
In the capital the average salary reportedly increased by 5.5%, more than in any other city.
To make the study ACRIP compiled data from 731 companies operating in 24 different sectors from 8 regions of the country.