Wages of bank employees rose higher than those of workers in other sectors as of mid-January, according to the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). The increase was 10 percent at banks and financial institutions compared to 4.3 percent overall. During the same period, inflation grew about seven percent, leaving the average worker with less buying power. Agricultural labourers followed bank workers with wages growing 7.3 percent while the wages of construction workers dropped one percent, according to the NRB's National Salary and Wage Index. The salaries of government workers did not change while those of employees at public corporations grew 4.4 percent.