Total hourly labour costs in the euro area (EA13) rose at an annual rate of 2.2% in nominal terms up to the first quarter of 2007, the same as in the previous quarter. In the EU27 the annual rise was 3.7% up to the first quarter of 2007, up from 2.8% for the previous quarter.



The two main components of labour costs are wages & salaries and non-wage costs. In the euro area, wages & salaries grew at an annual rate of 2.3% up to the first quarter of 2007, and non-wage costs by 2.1%, compared with 2.4% and 1.9% respectively for the fourth quarter of 2006. In the EU27, wages & salaries rose by 3.3% and the non-wage component by 4.9%. For the previous quarter the corresponding rates were 2.8% and 2.3%.

A breakdown by economic activity shows that in the euro area hourly labour costs rose at an annual rate of 2.2% in industry, 1.9% in construction and 2.2% in services up to the first quarter of 2007. In the EU27, labour costs grew by 3.4% in both industry and construction, and by 3.9% in services.

Member States

Among the Member States for which data are available for the first quarter of 2007 the smallest annual increases in hourly labour costs were observed in Germany (0.1%), Malta (1.4%) and Belgium (2.0%). The highest annual rises were registered in Latvia (32.6%), Romania (25.0%), Lithuania (22.2%) and Estonia (21.1%).

Annual growth in the wages & salaries component ranged from 0.1% in Germany to 32.7% in Latvia. The range for non-wage costs was from 0.0% in Germany to 33.8% in Latvia.