STAT/06/161
14 December 2006
Third quarter 2006 compared to third quarter 2005 Euro area labour cost up by 2.0% EU25 up by 2.6%
Total hourly labour costs in the euro area1 rose at an annual rate of 2.0% in nominal terms in the third quarter of 2006, down from 2.3% in the previous quarter2. In the EU253 the annual rise was 2.6% in the third quarter of 2006, down from 2.8% in the previous quarter2.
The two main components of labour costs are wages and salaries, and non-wage costs. In the euro area, wages and salaries grew at an annual rate of 2.2% in the third quarter of 2006, and non-wage costs by 1.8%, compared to 2.6% and 1.6% respectively in the second quarter of 2006. In the EU25, wages and salaries rose by 2.8% and the non-wage component by 1.7%. In the previous quarter the corresponding rates were 3.0% and 2.2%.
A breakdown by economic activity shows that in the euro area hourly labour costs rose at an annual rate of 2.6% in industry, 1.4% in construction and 1.8% in services in the third quarter of 2006. In the EU25, labour costs grew by 3.0% in industry, 2.7% in construction and 2.5% in services.
These figures come from Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities.
[ Figures and graphics available in PDF and WORD PROCESSED ]
Member States
Among the Member States for which data are available for the third quarter of 2006, only Malta (-0.2%) recorded a decrease, while the smallest annual increases were observed in Portugal (0.1%), Germany (0.5%) and the Netherlands (0.6%). The highest annual rises were registered in Latvia (23.6%), Lithuania (20.0%), Estonia (17.0%) and Hungary (9.5%).
Annual growth in the wages and salaries component ranged from -0.1% in Portugal to 23.9% in Latvia. The range for non-wage costs was from -2.6% in Sweden to 23.3% in Latvia.
[ Figures and graphics available in PDF and WORD PROCESSED ]
Data for 2006Q3 are not available for Belgium and Greece, and are confidential for Italy
Euro area: Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland. Data for the forthcoming enlargement of the euro area (12 Member States plus Slovenia) are already available on Eurostat's website. Revised data. The estimate for the second quarter 2006, published in News Release 120/2006 of 14 September 2006, was +2.4% for the euro area and +3.1% for the EU25. EU25: Belgium (BE), the Czech Republic (CZ), Denmark (DK), Germany (DE), Estonia (EE), Greece (EL), Spain (ES), France (FR), Ireland (IE), Italy (IT), Cyprus (CY), Latvia (LV), Lithuania (LT), Luxembourg (LU), Hungary (HU), Malta (MT), the Netherlands (NL), Austria (AT), Poland (PL), Portugal (PT), Slovenia (SI), Slovakia (SK), Finland (FI), Sweden (SE) and the United Kingdom (UK). Data for the forthcoming enlargement of the European Union (25 Member States plus Bulgaria and Romania) are already available on Eurostat's website. As the most recent Italian data are still provisional, they are treated as confidential. These data have, however, been included in the calculation of aggregates for the euro area and for the EU25. Labour Cost Index
The Labour Cost Index is a short-term indicator showing the development of hourly labour costs incurred by employers as a result of engaging the labour work force. The quarterly changes in employers’ costs are measured for the total labour costs and its main components wages and salaries, and labour costs other than wages and salaries (non-wage costs).
Total Labour Cost (TOT) covers wage and non-wage costs less subsidies. It does not include vocational training costs or other expenditures such as recruitment costs, spending on working clothes, etc.
Wage and salary costs (WAG) includes direct remunerations, bonuses, and allowances paid by an employer in cash or in kind to an employee in return for work done, payments to employees saving schemes, payments for days not worked and remunerations in kind such as food, drink, fuel, company cars, etc.
Labour costs other than wages and salaries (OTH - non-wage cost) includes the employers’ social contributions plus employment taxes regarded as labour costs less subsidies intended to refund part or all of the employer’s cost of direct remuneration. The labour cost index covers the following economic activities:
-Industry (NACE sectors C to E); C Mining and quarrying, D Manufacturing, E Electricity, gas, water supply.
-Construction (NACE sector F).
-Services (NACE sectors G to K); G Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles, personal and household goods, H Hotels and restaurants, I Transport, storage, communication, J Financial intermediation, K Real estate, renting, business activities.
Data in the tables are shown as percentage changes compared to the same quarter a year earlier. To eliminate the effects of varying numbers of working days in the same quarters of different years (Easter and other moving holidays) these changes are presented in working day adjusted form. Indices are based on Regulation (EC) No 450/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the European Union Labour Cost Index.
The data should not be considered as final as indices transmitted by Member States may be revised at a later date, in which case aggregates are recalculated.
Index levels and quarterly changes are available on the Eurostat internet site.
Other information
France: Hours worked are replaced by the contractual paid hours of full-time employees in enterprises of 10 and more employees.
Ireland: Irregular bonuses are not included in the measurement of labour costs.
Hungary: The source data relates to private enterprises employing at least 5 persons and government organizations of all size classes.
Finland: Data concerns only full-time employees; the quarterly change in labour costs since the first quarter 2005 has been measured by the change in earnings for regular working time.
Sweden: Irregular bonuses are not included in the measurement of labour costs. Data cover only the private sector.
Related statistical domains
Information on other earnings and labour cost indicators can be found on the Eurostat internet site under: Data / Population and social conditions / Labour market / Earnings and labour costs.
Issued by: Eurostat Press Office Tim ALLEN BECH Building L-2920 LUXEMBOURG Tel: +352-4301-33 444 Fax: +352-4301-35 349 eurostat-pressoffice@ec.europa.eu Eurostat news releases on the Internet: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat For further information on data: Carsten OLSSON Tel: +352-4301-34 208 Fax: +352-4301-34 415 carsten.olsson@ec.europa.eu Hubertus VREESWIJK Tel: +352-4301-34 323 Fax: +352-4301-33 649 hubertus.vreeswijk@ec.europa.eu Nominal hourly labour cost
% change compared to same quarter of previous year – working day adjusted
Total (NACE sections C to K) Q3 2005 Q4 2005 Q1 2006 Q2 2006 Q3 2006 TOTAL WAGES OTHER TOTAL WAGES OTHER TOTAL WAGES OTHER TOTAL WAGES OTHER TOTAL WAGES OTHER Euro area 2.1 2.4 1.4 2.3 2.6 1.5 2.3 2.8 0.9 2.3 2.6 1.6 2.0 2.2 1.8 EU25 2.2 2.5 2.0 2.9 3.0 2.3 2.5 3.0 1.4 2.8 3.0 2.2 2.6 2.8 1.7 BE 2.9 3.5 1.5 2.0 3.7 -1.7 1.6 2.0 0.4 : : : : : : CZ 4.2 4.2 4.2 6.5 6.5 6.6 5.1 5.1 5.1 9.9 9.9 9.9 6.0 6.0 6.0 DK 2.3 1.7 5.4 2.9 2.3 6.0 3.0 2.3 7.3 3.1 2.3 8.3 2.9 2.3 7.4 DE 1.0 1.7 -1.5 0.5 1.0 -1.5 0.5 1.3 -2.7 0.7 1.2 -0.9 0.5 0.3 1.3 EE 8.9 8.8 7.8 13.9 13.9 14.2 14.8 14.7 14.9 16.5 17.0 15.5 17.0 17.4 16.6 EL -3.2 -2.7 -9.3 0.3 0.5 -5.2 : : : : : : : : : ES 2.8 2.2 4.1 3.4 3.3 3.8 3.4 3.0 5.0 4.4 3.7 5.7 3.8 4.1 2.9 FR 2.8 2.7 3.0 3.4 3.3 3.7 3.7 3.9 3.3 3.2 3.4 2.8 3.1 3.2 3.0 IE 4.1 4.1 3.9 4.8 4.8 4.7 3.5 3.5 3.5 4.3 4.3 4.4 4.0 3.9 4.2 IT4 2.4 2.3 2.7 c c c c c c c c c c c c CY 4.0 4.0 3.9 4.5 4.6 3.5 4.2 4.3 3.9 4.1 3.9 3.9 4.7 4.7 4.4 LV 15.9 15.7 16.3 16.5 16.6 17.7 20.0 19.9 19.8 22.4 23.6 21.4 23.6 23.9 23.3 LT 11.2 11.0 11.5 14.9 14.1 15.4 12.6 12.7 13.3 21.1 20.9 21.4 20.0 19.4 20.6 LU 3.8 3.9 3.8 5.1 5.1 5.0 6.0 6.2 4.3 -0.6 -0.4 -2.1 2.6 2.9 0.7 HU 6.6 7.2 5.9 7.3 7.3 5.5 5.2 6.7 2.8 8.7 9.0 6.3 9.5 10.1 7.0 MT 2.2 2.3 1.4 3.6 3.5 5.1 5.9 6.1 4.0 0.4 4.6 3.3 -0.2 3.9 4.7 NL 1.8 2.5 1.2 -0.5 -0.1 -2.9 1.1 1.4 -1.2 1.5 1.4 1.5 0.6 0.3 0.2 AT 4.2 4.0 5.1 3.7 3.3 4.9 2.9 2.7 3.3 5.4 5.3 5.7 2.3 2.4 2.1 PL 4.5 4.2 3.8 4.4 4.8 3.4 3.9 3.8 5.4 4.8 4.8 6.3 6.2 7.1 9.3 PT 2.9 3.2 1.2 0.6 0.9 -1.0 3.9 3.9 4.1 1.2 0.7 3.1 0.1 -0.1 1.3 SI 2.8 2.9 2.3 7.2 7.8 4.9 4.9 5.5 2.2 7.6 8.4 4.0 3.3 4.1 -0.3 SK 11.1 9.2 15.7 9.8 8.6 13.0 7.3 5.9 14.4 6.9 6.6 2.1 7.4 8.1 5.1 FI 4.2 4.1 4.9 4.4 4.2 4.8 3.4 3.4 3.4 2.5 2.5 2.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 SE 3.1 6.0 5.0 2.9 5.8 5.0 0.6 2.5 -3.2 1.2 3.1 -2.7 1.2 3.0 -2.6 UK 1.3 1.1 2.9 4.2 4.2 3.6 2.8 2.9 2.0 3.7 3.8 3.5 4.1 4.6 0.0 BG 2.9 4.9 -2.6 2.7 4.7 -2.5 5.3 10.4 -9.6 6.4 11.0 -7.2 7.8 13.1 -7.8 RO 16.2 16.3 15.7 7.2 7.3 6.6 16.6 16.4 17.3 17.3 17.2 17.4 17.1 17.0 17.3 c Confidential : Data not available TOTAL = total nominal hourly labour cost WAGES = wages and salaries OTHER = non-wage costs
Nominal hourly labour cost by main economic activity branches
% change compared to same quarter of previous year – working day adjusted
Industry (NACE sections C to E) Construction (NACE section F) Services (NACE section G to K) Q3/05 Q4/05 Q1/06 Q2/06 Q3 2006 Q3/05 Q4/05 Q1/06 Q2/06 Q3 2006 Q3/05 Q4/05 Q1/06 Q2/06 Q3 2006 TOT TOT TOT TOT TOT WAG OTH TOT TOT TOT TOT TOT WAG OTH TOT TOT TOT TOT TOT WAG OTH Euro area 2.6 2.5 2.5 3.1 2.6 2.9 1.9 1.8 2.5 2.4 1.4 1.4 1.6 1.5 1.9 2.2 2.1 2.1 1.8 1.9 1.7 EU25 2.6 2.9 2.5 3.5 3.0 3.3 2.3 1.9 3.5 2.6 3.0 2.7 2.8 1.1 2.0 2.8 2.5 2.4 2.5 2.6 1.4 BE 3.0 1.4 3.3 : : : : 3.4 2.6 0.2 : : : : 2.8 2.4 1.0 : : : : CZ 3.5 6.7 4.1 10.5 5.9 5.9 5.9 4.5 7.1 6.7 10.2 7.0 7.0 7.0 4.9 6.1 5.8 9.2 6.0 6.0 5.9 DK 1.4 2.7 3.0 3.1 3.1 2.4 7.9 2.6 4.2 4.1 3.7 5.7 5.0 11.1 2.7 2.8 2.8 3.0 2.5 1.9 6.8 DE 1.3 0.8 1.1 2.2 1.6 1.4 2.1 -0.6 0.1 1.0 -3.6 -3.2 -3.4 -2.5 1.1 0.2 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.0 1.2 EE 12.7 13.5 13.5 14.4 16.2 16.6 16.3 11.1 15.5 20.2 13.5 21.4 21.7 20.6 6.0 14.1 14.6 18.5 16.8 17.2 16.1 EL 2.7 2.9 : : : : : -1.4 -1.4 : : : : : -7.0 -0.8 : : : : : ES 3.2 3.3 3.4 4.4 3.7 4.0 2.8 2.3 3.0 4.2 4.4 4.9 5.1 4.5 2.8 3.6 3.1 4.3 3.6 4.0 2.5 FR 3.2 3.8 3.4 3.8 3.2 3.3 3.1 2.1 2.5 2.5 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.8 2.7 3.4 3.9 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.0 IE 3.5 4.2 2.2 3.1 3.4 3.4 3.5 4.7 6.8 0.9 0.5 3.3 3.3 3.3 4.3 4.9 4.7 5.6 4.4 4.3 4.8 IT4 3.1 c c c c c c 4.1 c c c c c c 1.6 c c c c c c CY 2.7 3.1 2.7 3.7 5.8 5.8 6.0 3.6 8.2 2.8 0.9 3.1 3.1 3.1 4.5 4.3 4.9 4.8 4.6 4.7 4.2 LV 15.1 15.0 20.3 20.1 23.5 24.0 24.0 20.6 21.7 28.0 34.2 35.2 35.9 33.7 15.9 16.7 18.8 22.0 22.3 22.4 21.6 LT 10.6 13.6 11.8 19.7 19.3 16.8 23.3 8.5 8.9 28.6 34.6 29.2 32.3 28.7 12.3 17.3 9.4 19.1 18.3 18.3 17.1 LU 4.2 5.3 8.1 1.8 1.8 2.1 0.0 3.1 4.5 5.5 -0.6 2.2 2.7 -0.6 3.8 5.2 5.5 -1.1 2.9 3.1 1.2 HU 6.5 8.1 4.0 9.4 8.2 8.2 6.2 5.8 9.8 3.5 9.1 12.3 13.4 9.0 6.8 6.5 6.1 8.2 10.4 11.5 7.6 MT 1.2 -1.1 2.8 -1.0 1.8 2.2 3.9 -8.6 -4.1 1.2 -2.0 -6.7 0.3 -12.0 4.3 7.4 8.3 1.5 -0.5 5.3 8.5 NL 4.1 2.2 0.9 1.1 0.7 1.4 -2.6 3.0 2.7 2.4 0.3 -1.0 -0.8 -1.1 0.8 -1.9 0.9 1.8 0.8 0.1 1.5 AT 3.7 3.2 2.4 3.2 2.2 2.4 1.5 3.1 2.0 -0.3 -0.1 0.0 0.3 -1.1 4.7 4.3 3.7 7.4 2.8 2.7 3.0 PL 3.5 4.5 3.8 7.9 8.1 7.9 14.0 9.7 7.6 14.1 2.1 15.1 9.7 22.9 4.6 3.8 2.5 2.1 2.8 5.8 2.4 PT 3.5 1.0 5.7 -1.0 -0.2 -0.5 1.3 -1.1 -1.4 2.0 5.1 3.7 3.7 3.8 3.2 0.6 3.2 1.9 -0.3 -0.6 0.8 SI 6.5 9.1 5.9 8.2 1.3 2.1 -2.5 1.1 1.4 4.3 8.6 13.3 14.0 10.2 -0.5 6.3 4.0 6.6 3.9 4.7 0.5 SK 10.1 8.7 3.7 10.0 8.5 7.9 8.9 11.9 7.8 5.1 0.0 2.7 4.8 -2.4 11.9 11.2 11.3 4.7 7.0 8.7 2.1 FI 4.3 4.6 4.0 3.4 4.0 4.0 4.0 3.5 5.2 4.7 3.7 4.3 4.3 4.4 4.3 4.1 2.7 1.7 3.0 3.0 3.0 SE 2.9 3.0 -0.3 0.6 0.4 2.5 -4.0 2.9 2.7 0.3 0.6 0.8 3.3 -4.9 3.2 2.9 1.2 1.7 1.8 3.3 -1.5 UK 1.6 3.7 2.0 4.6 3.8 4.1 1.8 0.8 6.1 1.8 8.8 5.4 6.5 -2.8 1.3 4.1 3.1 2.9 4.0 4.6 -0.1 BG 4.8 4.5 4.6 4.3 6.0 11.0 -8.3 6.7 6.2 3.3 5.0 4.1 8.3 -10.8 0.4 0.4 6.3 8.9 10.5 16.1 -6.6 RO 19.8 12.7 17.6 16.7 17.7 17.6 18.2 20.2 7.5 15.5 19.0 19.7 19.7 19.7 10.9 0.3 15.3 17.5 16.3 16.3 16.3 c Confidential : Data not available TOT = total nominal hourly labour cost WAG = wages and salaries OTH = non-wage costs
