VILNIUS, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- An International monetary fund (IMF) mission to Lithuania on Monday warned the country of risks of rapid wage growth and continuous increase in minimum wage.
The mission made the warning in a statement released on Monday when it concluded its regular mission to the Baltic country.
The IMF staff noted that wages in Lithuania have grown faster than productivity since 2013.
"So far, this trend does not seem to have adversely affected the economy's competitiveness, but if it were to continue it could damage export growth and raise inflation," Borja Gracia, the chief of IMF mission to Lithuania, was quoted in a statement.
In recent years, the Lithuanian economy has seen wages, particularly in private sector, growing at the fastest pace since the previous financial crisis, mainly driven by shrinking labor force.
In the second quarter of this year, average gross wage jumped by 8.7 percent over the same period of last year.
The IMF experts also warned the country of rapid increase in minimum wage.
"In this context, further increases in the minimum wage, which at nearly 50 percent of the average wage is already high, would further increase risks in this area," noted Gracia.
According to the Statistics Lithuania, currently, minimum wage in Lithuania amounts to 380 euros. Last month, the Lithuanian government approved plans to increase the minimum pay by 20 euros to 400 euros as of next year. Since the start of 2016, the minimums wage in Lithuania was increased twice, or by 55 euros.
The IMF mission concluded that "Lithuania's economy is experiencing rapid, broad-based growth. The IMF staff expect Lithuanian GDP to grow by 3.5 percent in 2017 and around 3 percent over the medium-term.
