Romania posts highest annual increase (14.3 pct) in hourly labour costs in Q4 2017

In the fourthquarter of 2017, the highest annual increases in hourly labour costs for the whole economy were registered in Romania (+14.3 percent), Bulgaria (+12.2 percent) and Hungary (+8.6 percent). Small decreaseswererecorded in Finland (-0.7 percent) and Italy (-0.2 percent), according to Eurostat.

 Hourly labour costs rose by 1.5 percent in the euro area (EA19) and by 2.3 percent in the EU28 in the fourth quarter of 2017, compared with the same quarter of the previous year.

In the third quarter of 2017, hourly labour costs increased by 1.6 percent and 2.2 percent respectively.

The two main components of labour costs are wages & salaries and non-wage costs. In the euro area, the cost of wages & salaries per hour worked grew by 1.7 percent and the non-wage component by 1 percent, in the fourth quarter of 2017 compared with the same quarter of the previous year.

In the third quarter of 2017, the annual changes were +1.6 percent and +1.5 percent respectively. In the EU28, the cost of hourly wages & salaries roseby 2.4 percent and the non-wage component by 2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017. In the third quarter of 2017, annual changes were +2.1 percent and +2.2 percent respectively.

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