Pay rises reached a seven-year high in the third quarter of 2016, with wages up an average 2.1% on the previous year, according to the national statistics office CBS on Thursday.

The gap between salary increases and inflation, at 0.1%, has not been so high in 30 years, the CBS said.

Collectively negotiated wages have been going up faster than inflation since the third quarter of 2014.

Wages rose most for civil servants, who benefited from a 3.5% rise after several years of frozen pay. Private sector wages rose by an average of 1.9% and in public organisations by 1.1%.