The real value of employees’ earnings fell sharply by about N2.79tn in 2024 to N25.48tn, indicating that workers became poorer as inflation wiped out gains from higher nominal pay, data from the Central Bank of Nigeria show.According to the CBN’s Gross Domestic Product by Expenditure and Income data at 2010 constant purchasers’ prices, the real value of compensation of employees declined by 9.85 per cent to N25.48tn in 2024, from N28.27tn in 2023.In contrast, GDP data at current purchasers’ prices show that compensation of employees rose nominally by 18.43 per cent to N75.59tn in 2024, from N63.83tn in 2023.These figures mean that when adjusted for inflation, take-home pay for Nigerian workers decreased despite earning more naira, representing a significant loss in purchasing power during the yearCompensation of employees covers salaries, wages, and other remuneration, including allowances. The CBN data did not specify whether the figures cover only public sector workers or include private sector employees.Public finance stakeholders explained to The PUNCH that the divergence between real and nominal earnings reflects the impact of persistently high inflation on household welfare and living standards.Nigeria’s headline inflation rate opened 2024 at 29.90 per cent and climbed to 34.80 per cent in December, one of the highest annual inflation rates recorded in the past decadeA former President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Prof Segun Ajibola, said the real concern for workers was not nominal pay increases but the purchasing power of their income.“What is important in terms of wages and salaries is the real value of your purchasing power, which is a function of your disposable income or take-home pay,” he said.He noted that inflationary pressures, cost-push factors, and the depreciation of the naira had severely eroded workers’ purchasing power over the years.“I’m even surprised that the decline is not more than the nine per cent you are talking about,” he said, adding that currency depreciation had worsened the situation in a highly dollarised economy.Using the N70,000 minimum wage as an example, the economist explained that while nominal wages had increased, their real value had fallen sharply when adjusted for the naira’s depreciation.