The degree of wage differential as an indicator of the balance between demand and labour supply

The purpose of the article is to use the Gini index to indicate supply gaps in the labour market at sea. In order to determine the size of imbalance in the labour market at sea, a measure of concentration (unevenness) of distribution of a random variable was used. To determine in which positions the largest deficit of employees occurs (and probably will occur in future), positions from the deck and the engine room were selected, both among officers and ratings. Wages received on dry ships and on tankers were analysed separately. The next step was to select nations that to the greatest extent join crews of sea-going vessels (China, Croatia, India, Latvia, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom). First, the GDP per capita was compared for individual economies, from which seafarers were selected for the analysis. Then, salary levels were compared for each selected position. Differences in the GDP per capita calculated using the Gini coefficient were in line with differences in positions among ratings - mostly among cooks, ordinary seamen, wipers and messmen, regardless in which ship (dry or tanker) they were employed. Among the positions on which nationality had little impact on the amount of remuneration were: chief engineer on tankers and on bulk carriers: master, chief officer and 2nd engineer. Knowledge of the level of market imbalance and market trends may be helpful for crew departments/ crew agencies, while developing a policy of hiring people to work at sea. Additionally, it may indicate areas in which education and training of seafarers should be activated