Real wages are set to rise in 2024 at the strongest rate in more than 15 years thanks to easing inflation, with wide gaps and persistent inequality, the International Labor Organization (ILO) warns.

Last year, real wages grew by 1.8 percent and this year their growth should accelerate to 2.7 percent, the ILO calculated in its annual report.

"If this trend is confirmed, it will be the strongest increase in more than 15 years," said ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo.

According to him, the estimates show a "significant" recovery compared to 2022, when wages fell by 0.9 percent in real terms due to high inflation. However, the positive trend is not evenly distributed, Houngbo added.

"We must not forget that millions of workers and their families continue to suffer the consequences of the cost-of-living crisis that has eroded their living standards and that wage disparities between and within countries remain unacceptably high," he warned. head of the ILO.

In G20 developing economies, real wages rose by almost six percent last year, after a 1.8-fold increase in 2022, the ILO calculated, adding that the positive trend should continue this year.

In the G20 advanced economies, real wages fell 0.5 percent last year, after a 2.8 percent decline in 2022.

Regional comparisons show wage recovery in 2023 in most regions, with the exception of Africa, North America and Northern, Southern and Western Europe.

In Africa they decreased by 2.4 percent, in North America they remained at the level of 2022 and in Northern, Southern and Western Europe they were less by 0.2 percent.

This year, real wages rose on average across all regions, from 17.9 percent in Central and West Asia to 0.3 percent in North America.

Despite the higher wages, prices are still too high for low-income families who continue to struggle with the rising cost of living.

"Inflation has eased, but it is still a harsh reality for many developing and emerging countries," Houngbo said.

Inequality has eased since the turn of the century, but is still pronounced, with the top 10 percent of workers earning just 0,5 percent of total global wages.

The top 10 percent earn 38 percent, the ILO calculated. Inequality is most pronounced in low-income countries, where just over a fifth of workers fall into the low-income category.