Wage Drift and Wage Differentials in Manufacturing since 1981

During the boom years of the 1960s and 1970s wage drift (the difference between growth rates of wages and salaries actually paid and wage increases as negotiated by unions in collective bargaining) was strongly positive in Austria's manufacturing industry. This trend was reversed during the recession of 1974-75; since then, only briefly interrupted by a peak in the early 1980s, wage drift has been negative for the manufacturing sector as a whole. This phenomenon can be observed for most branches of manufacturing as well. These changes have, however, not levelled wage differentials. On the contrary, wage disparity has risen for wage as well as for salary earners during the period from 1981 to 1998.