Business and non-business economy
Hourly labour costs for the business economy in the euro area rose by 2.0% in the year up to the second quarter of 2012, compared with 1.6% for the first quarter of 2012. In the EU27, the annual rise was 2.3% up to the second quarter of 2012, compared with 1.5% for the previous quarter. Hourly labour costs for the mainly non-business economy rose by 0.5% in both the euro area and the EU27 in the year up to the second quarter of 2012, compared with 1.2% in both zones for the first quarter of 2012.
A breakdown of the business economy by economic activity shows that in the euro area hourly labour costs rose by 2.3% in industry, by 2.1% in construction and by 1.9% in services in the year up to the second quarter of 2012.
In the EU27, labour costs per hour grew by 2.6% in industry, by 2.3% in construction and by 2.2% in services.
Member States
Among the Member States for which data are available for the second quarter of 2012, the highest annual increases in hourly labour costs for the whole economy were registered in Romania (+7.1%), Finland (+4.9%), Bulgaria and Latvia (both +4.8%), and the lowest in Ireland (+0.4%), Spain and the Netherlands (both +0.5%).
In the business economy, the highest growth rates in the year up to the second quarter 2012 were observed in Romania (+7.3%) and Hungary (+6.3%), and the lowest in the Netherlands (+0.3%).
In the mainly non-business economy, the highest increases in the year up to the second quarter 2012 were recorded in Romania (+6.1%) and the Czech Republic (+5.3%), and the largest decreases in Portugal (-5.9%) and the United Kingdom (-1.1%).
