The FINANCIAL — Hourly labour costs1 rose by 2.2% in the euro area (EA19) and by 2.5% in the EU28 in the first quarter of 2015, compared with the same quarter of the previous year. In the fourth quarter of 20143, hourly labour costs increased by 1.2% in the euro area and by 1.5% in the EU28. These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
The two main components of labour costs are wages & salaries and non-wage costs. In the euro area, wages & salaries per hour worked grew by 2.2% and the non-wage component by 2.1%, in the first quarter of 2015 compared with the same quarter of the previous year. In the fourth quarter of 2014, the annual changes were +1.1% for wages & salaries and +1.3% for non-wage costs. In the EU28, hourly wages & salaries rose by 2.4% and the non-wage component by 2.6% for the first quarter of 2015. In the fourth quarter of 2014, annual changes were +1.4% and +1.7% respectively.
Breakdown by economic activity
In the first quarter of 2015 compared with the same quarter of the previous year, hourly labour costs in the euro area rose by 2.5% in industry, by 1.5% in construction, by 2.3% in services and by 1.9% in the (mainly) non- business economy. In the EU28, labour costs per hour grew by 2.6% in industry, by 1.8% in construction, by 2.7% in services and by 2.1% in the (mainly) non-business economy in the first quarter.
Member States
In the first quarter of 2015, the highest annual increases in hourly labour costs for the whole economy were registered in Latvia (+7.3%), Romania (+7.1%), Bulgaria (+6.9%), Lithuania (+5.9%) and Estonia (+5.0%). A decrease was recorded in Cyprus (-1.8%).
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