EU25 Labour Costs up by 2.4 per cent

Total hourly labour costs in the Euro area rose at an annual rate of 2.2 per cent in nominal terms in the first quarter of 2006, up from 2.1 per cent in the previous quarter. In the EU25 the annual rise was 2.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2006, down from 2.5 per cent in the previous quarter.

The two main components of labour costs are wages and salaries, and non-wage costs. In the Euro area, wages and salaries grew at an annual rate of 2.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2006, and non-wage costs by 1.2 per cent, compared to 2.0 per cent and 2.7 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2005. In the EU25, wages and salaries rose by 2.7 per cent and the non-wage component by 1.6 per cent. In the previous quarter the corresponding rates were 2.6 per cent and 2.7 per cent.

A breakdown by economic activity shows that in the Euro area hourly labour costs rose at an annual rate of 2.5 per cent in industry, 2.1 per cent in construction and 2.0 per cent in services in the first quarter of 2006. In the EU25, labour costs grew by 2.4 per cent in industry and by 2.3 per cent in both construction and services.

These figures come from Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities.