Österreich weist im internationalen Vergleich in der Industrie hohe Lohnunterschiede auf. Nur ein kleiner Teil davon dürfte
auf die unterschiedliche Qualifikationsstruktur der einzelnen Branchen zurückgehen. Bereits auf der Ebene der kollektivvertraglichen
Mindestlöhne stellen sich große Lohndifferentiale ein. Weitaus stärker divergieren die Löhne nach Branchen, wenn auch freiwillige
Sozialleistungen und andere Lohnnebenkosten in den Vergleich einbezogen werden.
Keywords:Große Lohnunterschiede nach Branchen in der Industrie; Large Wage Differentials in Austria's Manufacturing Sector
Forschungsbereich:Arbeitsmarktökonomie, Einkommen und soziale Sicherheit
Sprache:Deutsch
Large Wage Differentials in Austria's Manufacturing Sector
Labor costs in Austria's manufacturing industry are among the highest in the OECD area, exceeding the EU average by almost
20 percent. The average figure for labor costs masks, however, substantial variation between manufacturing branches. The remuneration
for blue-collar workers and for white-collar workers varies greatly across the branches of Austria's manufacturing sector.
Even at the collective bargaining level, where wages and salaries are set in negotiations between unions and employers (negotiated
wage and salary rates) wage differentials are substantial. If only the rate for the lowest skill categories where differences
in working conditions play no role is considered, some high-wage industries pay twice as much as low-wage industries. At the
level of earnings, even larger wage differentials emerge, both for wage earners and salaried workers. Inclusion of fringe
benefits in the comparison further increases wage differentials across industries. Only a small portion of wage differentials
can be explained by differences in the composition of the work force by skill category. A large portion of the wage differentials
is due to institutional factors: what matters is the question of ownership, private or government ownership, and whether a
branch belongs to the sheltered or open sector of the economy. This interpretation is supported by an international comparison
which puts Austria into the group of countries with very high wage dispersion.