Eurozone labour costs rose by 2.7% in the second quarter

According to the report from Eurostat, hourly labour costs rose by 2.7% in the euro area (EA19) and by 3.1% in the EU28 in the second quarter of 2019, compared with the same quarter of the previous year. In the first quarter of 2019, hourly labour costs increased by 2.5% and 2.7% 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 2.7% and the non-wage component by 2.9% in the second quarter of 2019 compared with the same quarter of the previous year. In the first quarter of 2019, the annual changes were +2.7% and +2.1% respectively. In the EU28, the costs of hourly wages & salaries rose by 3.1% and the non-wage component rose by 3.0% in the second quarter of 2019. In the first quarter of 2019, annual changes were +2.9% and +2.1% respectively.

In the second quarter of 2019 compared with the same quarter of the previous year, hourly labour costs in the euro area rose by 2.1% in industry, by 2.4% in construction, by 2.9% in services and by 3.0% in the (mainly) nonbusiness economy. In the EU28, labour costs per hour grew by 2.5% in industry, by 3.1% in construction and by 3.3% in both services and in the (mainly) non-business economy.