The net medium income from Romania in September 2009 increased by 11 lei, i.e. 2.55 euros against August, amounting to 1,359 lei (approximately 315 euros). This is 0.8% up according to a Romanian National Statistics Institute (INS) report.

The increase reflects the prizes awarded within the companies, according to the INS - bonuses for performance, holidays and other forms of money aids awarded from the salary fund.

The gross salary for the same month was 1,860 lei, meaning roughly 332 euros. "Even though the net and gross medium income in September is slightly higher than in the preceding month, it is under the level of the incomes from the rest of the year, except for February and May", the INS report shows.

The biggest salaries - three times higher than the medium income - were recorded in the oil and natural gas extraction industry - 3,600 lei, while the lowest salaries were paid in the clothes manufacturing industry - 788 lei.

The real salary index for September 2009 was calculated against the previous month and it is represented by a rapport between the net nominal income index and the consumption prices index. Its value is 100.4%, showing a slight increase in the consumption power.

In regards to budgets, the salary trend is downwards. The gross medium income in the public administration sector recorded the lowest level in September in contrast with the rest of the year. A similar situation can be found in the Health and Educational departments: despite the slight increase of the gross medium income in September 2009 against August, it is still lower than any other month of the year.

In order to calculate the salary level, the INS considers companies with at least flour employees. These companies cover 99.69% of the total number of employees. The number of staff from the companies excluded from the study represents about 7.92% of the total number of staff in the Romanian economy.