The average net wage paid out in June was 48,381 denars. In May it was 49,544. The difference is 1,163 denars less - or 2.3 percent month on month, according to State Statistical Office data.

That is the nominal drop. The real one, once inflation is subtracted, is 1.9 percent. Either way the number moves in the same direction, and it is not a direction anyone will call a press conference about.

The annual growth nobody feels

Year on year the picture looks different: wages are 6.4 percent higher in nominal terms. In real terms, once inflation takes its share, the growth melts down to around three percent. That is the gap between the number in the press release and the number in your pocket.

Most of the annual growth comes from administrative and support service activities, where wages rose by almost 11 percent, followed by agriculture, forestry and fishing, and transport and storage at around 8 percent.

Where did they fall? In wholesale and retail trade and motor vehicle repair - around 9 percent in a single month. In arts, entertainment and recreation, 6.2 percent. In electricity, gas and air conditioning supply, around 6 percent.

An average almost nobody lives on

The lowest average net wage in June was recorded in accommodation and food service activities - 34,200 denars. The highest is in information and communication: 88,262 denars.

Between those two numbers sits everything the word "average" leaves out. Someone lives on the minimum wage, someone on 30-35 thousand denars, someone on 70 or 80. Add them up and divide, and you get a figure that describes nobody in particular.

Economists assess that wage growth exists mainly on paper, because inflation ate it long ago - so there is no improvement in purchasing power and none in living standards.

Where we stand in the region

Despite continuous growth, Macedonia remains near the bottom of Europe in average wage levels. By comparison, the average wage in Serbia is around 945 euros, in Bosnia and Herzegovina 815, in Montenegro 1,018, in Croatia 1,500 and in Slovenia 1,630 euros a month.

As long as the story is told in percentages, the growth looks solid. The moment it is converted into euros and placed next to the neighbours, the conversation is over.

June's drop will probably be explained by seasonal factors and bonus payments in May - and that explanation will probably be correct. But the rest of the picture is not seasonal: growth that inflation eats, a sector averaging 34,200 denars, and an average almost nobody actually feels.