Essentially yes. Depending on how much you made you would be paid in grain, specifically wheat and a small allotment of barley. The wheat was used to make their staple: bread. The barley was for brewing beer. The more money you made the more grain you recieved. If you made tons of money you couldn't possibly eat/drink all the grain, so you could trade it for other foodstuffs like fruits, vegetables, meats, or fishes.

Many people were employed by the state like scribes, builders, or granery workers, but not all. Merchants and private vendors or craftsmen were self-employed mostly, and would trade internationally in various goods, bartering for valuables used to trade for necessary goods once they returned home.