Inflation is here to stay, according to experts. The loss of purchasing power of the average wages per worker will be around 3.5 per cent in 2022 - the biggest reduction since the Troika in 2012. Portugal will have the 11th highest loss of purchasing power among the 33 countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

According to Dinheiro Vivo, which is based on recent OECD data, the drop in the purchasing power of average salaries per capita in Portugal comes mainly because the rise in average compensation per employee is only 2.9%, the sixth weakest in the group of three dozen OECD economies.

Based on the new OECD forecasts, the Portuguese wage erosion forecast for this year – in the region of 3.5%, which has been caused by inflation - is higher than the average of the eurozone and of the OECD group (2.8% in both cases). Leading the table is the Czech Republic (more than 7%) and completing the podium are Estonia and Mexico, which occupy second and third positions in the ranking, respectively.