Compared to the third quarter of 2024, the average monthly salary increased by 132 euros, or 7.8%. In turn, the salary per hour worked (before taxes) increased to 12.12 euros, a rise of 4.6%.
In the 3rd quarter of 2025, compared to the 2nd quarter of 2025, the average monthly gross wage increased by 1.5%, while the hourly wage decreased by 4.5%.
“The decrease in hourly wage, along with the increase in the average monthly gross wage, is most often determined by the fact that the number of hours worked in the quarter is growing faster than the total wage fund, as there were 7 more working days in the 3rd quarter than in the 2nd quarter,” explained the CSB.
However, as workers are all too aware, once taxes are applied, the amount of take-home pay reduces substantially. The average monthly salary after tax was 1,361 euros or 74.1% of the gross wage, and it grew by 10.5% over the year, outpacing both consumption and pre-tax (gross) earnings. The real net wage growth, adjusted for inflation, was 6.3%.
The median gross wage for full-time work in the 3rd quarter of 2025 was 1,488 euros. Compared to the 3rd quarter of 2024 (1,385), it increased by 103 euros or 7.5%. The median wage after employment taxes (net) in the 3rd quarter of this year was 1,135 euros, and it increased by 11.7% over the year.
 Faster growth in the private sector
In the 3rd quarter of 2025, compared to the 3rd quarter of the previous year, average wages in the private sector grew slightly faster than in the public sector – by 8.1% and 7.1%, respectively.
In the 3rd quarter of 2025, the average salary before taxes in the private sector was 1,821 euros, while in the public sector it was 62 euros higher, or 1,883 euros. Â
The estimated wage fund in the 3rd quarter of 2025, compared to the 3rd quarter of last year, increased by 6.9% or 259 million euros in the country as a whole, but the number of employees, converted into full-time equivalents, decreased by 6.3 thousand or 0.8%.
Best-paid jobs are in finance and in Rīga
In the 3rd quarter of 2025, the average monthly wage for full-time work was higher than the national average in the financial and insurance activities (3,022 euros), information and communication services (2,866 euros), professional, scientific and technical services (2,334 euros), energy (2,257 euros), mining and quarrying (2,178 euros), public administration (2,141 euros), water supply, wastewater and waste management (1,827 euros), as well as in the health and social care sector (1,879 euros).
The lowest average wage for full-time work was in the accommodation and food services sector – 1,182 euros before taxes.
As usual, wages were highest in Rīga and its surrounding region. The highest average gross salary for full-time work was in the Riga region – 2,008 euros, while the lowest was in Latgale (1,329 euros) – a difference of 33.8%.
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