Hourly labour costs in the euro area (EA17) rose by 2.6% in the year up to the first quarter of 2011, compared with 1.5% for the previous quarter. In the EU27, the annual rise was 2.7% up to the first quarter of 2011, compared with 1.8% for the previous quarter.

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 2.3% in the year up to the first quarter of 2011, and the non-wage component by 3.6%, compared with 1.4% and 1.8% respectively for the fourth quarter of 2010. In the EU27, hourly wages & salaries rose by 2.6% and the non-wage component by 3.5% in the year up to the first quarter of 2011, compared with 1.9% and 1.5% respectively for the fourth quarter of 2010.

The breakdown by economic activity shows that in the euro area hourly labour costs rose by 2.8% in industry and by 2.5% in both construction and services in the year up to the first quarter of 2011. In the EU27, labour costs per hour grew by 3.1% in industry, 2.3% in construction and 2.6% in services.

Member States

Among the Member States for which data are available for the first quarter of 2011, the highest annual increases in hourly labour costs were registered in Bulgaria (+7.8%) and Hungary (+5.6%). Annual decreases were observed in Greece (-6.8%) and Ireland (-2.2%).