Hourly labour costs increased by 1.0% in the euro area (EA19) and by 1.4% the EU28 in the second quarter of 2016, compared with the same quarter of the previous year, according to figures from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

In the first quarter of 2016, hourly labour costs increased by 1.6% in both zones. 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 0.9% and the non-wage component by 1.4%, in the second quarter of 2016 compared with the same quarter of the previous year. In the first quarter of 2016, the annual changes were +1.7% and +1.5% respectively. In the EU28, hourly wages & salaries rose by 1.3% and the non-wage component by 1.6% in the second quarter of 2016, compared to the same period last year. In the first quarter of 2016, annual changes were +1.6% for both components.

In the second quarter of 2016 compared with the same quarter of the previous year, hourly labour costs in the euro area rose by 0.9% in industry, by 1.5% in construction, by 0.9% in services and by 1.1% in the (mainly) nonbusiness economy. In the EU28, labour costs per hour grew by 1.1% in industry, by 3.1% in construction, by 1.2% in services and by 1.6% in the (mainly) non-business economy.

In the second quarter of 2016, the highest annual increases in hourly labour costs for the whole economy were registered in Romania (+12.0%), Latvia (+9.5%), Bulgaria (+7.3%) and Lithuania (+6.6%). Decreases were recorded in Finland (-2.0%), Italy and Luxembourg (both -1.1%).