The aim of this Bachelor’s Thesis is to examine the purchasing power of Finnish medium wage earners in the 2000s. In the thesis purchasing power is studied by following the development of real wages in Finland. Real wages are inflation-adjusted wages. In addition to examining purchasing power, the study also observes the factors behind its development. These factors are inflation and nominal wages. The thesis also compares Finnish purchasing power development with a few selected foreign countries.

The study was carried out with quantitative methods and it was based on different database statistics about inflation rates and wages. A significant study result was that the purchasing power development of Finnish medium wage earners has been quite slow in the 2000s. Despite the slow progress, it is also notable that purchasing power has grown almost every year in the period – there is only one year when it has weakened in the country. Another noteworthy study result is that the Finnish purchasing power progress has really slowed down in the recent years, which can also be clearly seen in the study’s international comparison between Finland and a few selected foreign countries.