Bulgaria Registers Highest Hourly Labor Cost Increase in EU

In the Euro Area, wages and salaries grew by 3,9% in the year up to the second quarter of 2009, and non-wage costs by 4,2%, Eurostat data shows. Photo by BGNES

Total hourly labor costs in the Euro Area rose by 4,0% in nominal terms in the year up to the second quarter of 2009, compared with 3,6% for the previous quarter, Eurostat figures reveal.

In the EU, the annual rise was 3,7% up to the second quarter of 2009, compared with 1,3% for the previous quarter.

Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, published Tuesday its labor cost report.

The two main components of labor costs are wages and salaries and non-wage costs. In the Euro Area, wages and salaries grew by 3,9% in the year up to the second quarter of 2009, and non-wage costs by 4,2%, compared with 3,4% and 4,1% respectively for the first quarter of 2009. In the EU, wages & salaries rose by 3,6% and the non-wage component by 3,8%. For the previous quarter the corresponding rates were 0,9% and 2,8%.

The breakdown by economic activity shows that in the Euro Area hourly labor costs rose by 5,3% in industry, 4,5% in construction and 3,2% in services in the year up to the second quarter of 2009. In the EU, labor costs grew by 5,1% in industry, 4,1% in construction and 2,9% in services.

Among the Member States for which data are available for the second quarter of 2009, annual decreases in hourly labor costs were observed in Lithuania (-6,2%) and Estonia (-0,6%). The highest annual rises were registered in Bulgaria (15,5%) and Romania (11,7%).