Total hourly labour costs in the euro area (EA16) 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. In the EU27, the annual rise was 3.7% up to the second quarter of 2009, compared with 1.3% for the previous quarter.

The two main components of labour costs are wages & 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 EU27, 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 labour 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 EU27, labour costs grew by 5.1% in industry, 4.1% in construction and 2.9% in services.

Member States

Among the Member States for which data are available for the second quarter of 2009, annual decreases in hourly labour 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%).