Statistics about Moldovans’ salaries do not show the real situation. In order to optimize costs, many entrepreneurs pay salaries ‘in envelopes’ and then report minimal salaries. In fact, the salaries received by the Moldovans are much higher, possibly twice higher than the official average salary, said economic expert Adrian Lupusor, executive director of the Independent Analytical Center “Expert-Grup”, IPN reports.

Contacted by IPN, Adrian Lupusor said the salary is not the only source of income of the Moldovans. There are remittances or dividends in the case of businessmen, which are also not fully included in statistics. The Moldovans tend to report lower salaries and thus create errors in statistics.

According to Adrian Lupusor, the Moldovans’ spending is an indicator showing that the incomes are larger than the reported ones. That’s why it is more relevant to analyze the costs. Compared with last year, the Moldovans live better. 2013 saw a robust economic growth. It was a better agricultural year and this contributed to the improvement of the living conditions of the rural population.

“Even if we have robust economic growth, when we compare the economic situation of Moldova with that of other countries, we see that we rank among the last in terms of the GDP per capita, which is the lowest in Central and Eastern Europe and one of the lowest in the CIS,” said the expert.

According to the latest data presented by the National Bureau of Statistics, the average gross nominal salary this September was 3,758.5 lei, up 9.8% on last September. The National Bank of Moldova announced that the Moldovans who work abroad in 9 months of this year sent home US$1.1 billion, an increase of 8% compared with the corresponding period 2012. Moldovan migrants’ annual remittances amount to 30% of the GDP and are expected to rise to US$2 billion towards this yearend.