Only 12 sectors in Macedonia have an average net wage above 1,000 euros. That's the takeaway from an analysis built on the State Statistical Office's March data - and a number that says more about inequality than any statement about a "rising standard of living."

At the top, by a huge margin, is information and communications - IT - with an average wage of 115,577 denars (around 1,880 euros). Behind it come scientific research at 84,003 denars and other professional and technical activities at 83,149. Transport and storage, telecommunications and air transport fill out the upper half of the list.

The context is what stings. The average net wage across the whole country is 48,433 denars - around 790 euros. In other words, most sectors sit well below the 1,000-euro mark, and the average is pulled up by a handful of sectors that employ a small slice of the total workforce.

That's the picture behind the word "average." When you hear that wages are rising, it's worth asking - whose wages? Because in a country where one IT engineer earns two or three times the average while entire industries stay stuck below 800 euros, the "average wage" becomes a number that rarely describes anyone for real. The question isn't whether good wages exist - they do. The question is for how many.