Signal Widening gaps: population drift to the capital region, falling real wages and a stark wage divide

Summary

The plan's cause analysis lists several gaps that it links to demographic change and uneven development. Between 2015 and 2024 the population of the capital region grew by about 570,000 while the rest of the country lost about 680,000. Real wages are reported to have fallen for two consecutive years in 2022 and 2023, alongside stagnant real incomes and accumulating household debt. Under the heading of an unfair market structure the plan cites a deepening dual labour market, with wages of non-regular workers at small and medium firms equal to 41.5 percent of those of regular workers at large firms in 2024. It also names widening gaps between large and smaller companies, persistent polarisation and welfare blind spots, and a sharp fall in the working-age population.