STAT/06/80
16 June 2006
First quarter 2006 compared to first quarter 2005 Euro area labour cost up by 2.2% EU25 up by 2.4%
Total hourly labour costs in the euro area1 rose at an annual rate of 2.2% in nominal terms in the first quarter of 2006, up from 2.1% in the previous quarter2. In the EU253 the annual rise was 2.4% in the first quarter of 2006, down from 2.5% 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 2.5% in the first quarter of 2006, and non-wage costs by 1.2%, compared to 2.0% and 2.7% in the fourth quarter of 2005. In the EU25, wages and salaries rose by 2.7% and the non-wage component by 1.6%. In the previous quarter the corresponding rates were 2.6% and 2.7%.
A breakdown by economic activity shows that in the euro area hourly labour costs rose at an annual rate of 2.5% in industry, 2.1% in construction and 2.0% in services in the first quarter of 2006. In the EU25, labour costs grew by 2.4% in industry and by 2.3% in both construction and services.
These figures come from Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities.
[Graphic in PDF & Word format]
Member States
Among the Member States for which data are available for the first quarter of 2006, the smallest annual increases were recorded in the Netherlands (0.1%), Sweden (0.4%), Germany (0.6%) and Malta (0.7%) while the highest annual rises were found in Latvia (19.0%), Estonia (14.9%), Lithuania (13.2%) and Slovakia (7.5%).
Annual growth in the wages and salaries component ranged from 0.8% in the Netherlands to 18.7% in Latvia. The range for non-wage costs was from -3.4% in Sweden to 18.5% in Latvia.
[Graphic in PDF & Word format] Data for 2006Q1 are not available for Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Cyprus and Luxembourg, and are confidential for Italy
Euro area: Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland. Revised data. The estimate for the fourth quarter 2005, issued on 17 March 2006, was +2.4% for the euro area and +2.9% 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). As the 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.
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 2003 has been measured by the change in earnings for regular working time.
Ireland: Irregular bonuses are not included in the measurement of labour costs.
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 For further information on data: Carsten OLSSON Tel: +352-4301-34 208 Fax: +352-4301-34 415 carsten.olsson@ec.europa.eu Eurostat news releases on the Internet: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ Nominal hourly labour cost % change compared to same quarter of previous year – working day adjusted
Total (NACE sections C to K) Q1 2005 Q2 2005 Q3 2005 Q4 2005 Q1 2006 TOT WAG OTH TOT WAG OTH TOT WAG OTH TOT WAG OTH TOT WAG OTH Euro area 3.1 2.7 3.6 2.6 2.2 3.3 2.0 2.1 1.2 2.1 2.0 2.7 2.2 2.5 1.2 EU25 3.4 3.2 3.7 2.8 2.6 3.1 2.0 2.0 1.6 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.4 2.7 1.6 BE 2.9 4.2 -0.3 2.5 3.0 1.3 2.7 3.4 1.0 : : : : : : CZ 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.3 3.3 3.3 4.2 4.2 4.2 6.5 6.5 6.6 4.9 4.9 4.9 DK 3.1 3.1 3.3 3.1 3.0 3.9 2.3 1.7 5.4 2.9 2.3 6.0 : : : DE 1.3 1.1 2.1 0.7 0.8 0.2 1.1 1.6 -0.8 0.4 0.8 -1 0.6 1.4 -2.4 EE 9.5 9.7 10.0 10.6 10.4 10.1 8.7 8.9 8.2 14.2 14.1 13.9 14.9 14.6 14.7 EL 5.5 6.6 0.3 : : : : : : : : : : : : ES 4.2 3.9 5.1 4.3 4.3 4.6 2.8 2.2 4.2 3.4 3.3 3.8 3.4 3.1 4.8 FR 3.4 3.0 4.1 2.8 2.7 3.1 2.8 2.8 2.9 3.3 3.3 3.4 3.9 4.0 3.6 IE 4.5 3.6 4.6 4.0 3.2 4.1 : : : : : : : : : IT4 c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c CY 5.8 6.0 4.6 3.4 4.0 2.5 3.8 3.9 3.4 3.2 3.5 1.8 : : : LV 14.5 14.3 16.0 13.1 13 14.6 15.9 15.8 16.3 16.8 16.8 18.1 19.0 18.7 18.5 LT 12.6 12.1 14.9 7.3 6.9 8.2 11.2 11.0 11.5 14.4 14.1 14.9 13.2 12.9 13.8 LU 6.9 7.2 4.7 5.7 5.8 5.1 3.2 3.3 2.8 7.7 7.9 6.2 : : : HU 9.4 9.6 9.0 6.5 6.8 6.0 6.6 6.8 6.0 7.6 8.2 5.8 5.0 5.8 2.6 MT 2.9 3.3 2.1 2.2 1.2 2.9 1.8 2.6 0.2 1.2 3.1 1.0 0.7 1.5 -1.4 NL 2.8 0.6 9.7 2.4 0.3 9.5 2.2 0.3 9.2 -0.2 -1.0 5.8 0.1 0.8 -1.0 AT 3.9 3.7 4.4 4.4 4.2 5.2 4.3 4.0 5.1 3.5 3.1 4.8 2.8 2.7 3.0 PL 4.3 2.9 3.0 2.2 3.7 2.6 5.0 3.1 3.8 4.1 3.5 3.8 3.7 5.2 5.9 PT 2.0 2.2 1.3 2.7 3.3 0.2 2.9 3.2 1.2 0.6 0.9 -1.0 4.3 4.2 4.7 SI 5.9 6.5 3.1 4.0 4.5 1.7 2.8 2.9 2.3 7.2 7.8 4.9 4.9 5.5 2.2 SK 9.3 9.2 5.2 9.5 7.2 17.1 11 9.1 15.6 9.7 8.5 13 7.5 5.9 14.5 FI 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.9 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 3.2 3.2 3.2 SE 3.7 3.8 3.5 3.1 3.3 2.8 2.9 3.2 2.3 2.8 3.1 2.3 0.4 2.2 -3.4 UK 4.3 4.5 3.4 3.1 3.3 1.9 1.3 1.1 2.9 3.1 3.2 2.6 2.7 2.6 3.4 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) Q1/05 Q2/05 Q3/05 Q4/05 Q1 2006 Q1/05 Q2/05 Q3/05 Q4/05 Q1 2006 Q1/05 Q2/05 Q3/05 Q4/05 Q1 2006 TOT TOT TOT TOT TOT WAG OTH TOT TOT TOT TOT TOT WAG OTH TOT TOT TOT TOT TOT WAG OTH Euro area 3.1 2.5 2.4 2.3 2.5 2.9 1.2 3.5 2.5 1.3 1.0 2.1 2.2 1.9 3.0 2.5 1.8 2.1 2.0 2.3 1.1 EU25 3.2 2.6 2.4 2.7 2.4 2.7 1.5 2.5 2.7 1.6 2.1 2.3 2.5 2.0 3.8 2.8 1.9 2.4 2.3 2.7 1.5 BE 1.9 3.3 3.2 : : : : 8.9 -0.6 3.6 : : : : 2.6 2.4 2.3 : : : : CZ 1.7 3.2 3.5 6.7 4.0 4.0 4.0 1.1 2.7 4.5 7.1 7.0 7.0 7.0 6.1 3.5 4.9 6.1 5.4 5.4 5.4 DK 2.2 1.7 1.4 2.7 : : : 3.6 3.4 2.6 4.2 : : : 3.4 3.7 2.7 2.8 : : : DE 1.8 0.7 1.9 0.9 1.4 2.3 -1.6 0.5 -0.6 -0.7 -1.2 1.0 2.0 -1.9 1.1 0.9 0.7 0.3 -0.1 0.7 -3.0 EE 13 12.3 12.5 13.7 13.5 13.2 13.6 8.8 16.1 11.1 15.5 20.2 20.4 16.9 7.3 8.5 5.8 14.3 14.9 14.4 15 EL 6.5 : : : : : : 5 : : : : : : 5.0 : : : : : : ES 5.1 4.5 3.2 3.2 3.5 3.1 5.1 3.2 3.7 2.3 3.0 4.3 3.4 6.4 4.0 4.3 2.8 3.6 3.1 3.0 4.1 FR 3.6 3.3 3.1 3.6 3.3 3.4 3 1.7 2.4 2.2 2.5 2.6 2.9 2.0 3.4 2.7 2.8 3.3 4.2 4.3 4.0 IE 5.2 3.7 : : : : : 8.7 6.3 : : : : : 3.6 3.9 : : : : : IT4 c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c CY 6.3 3.9 2.7 2.3 : : : 8.9 4.7 3.6 4.8 : : : 5.2 3.1 4.2 3.2 : : : LV 13.1 13.8 15.1 15.5 19 18.4 20.9 12.8 13.2 20.6 22.1 28.2 26.6 29.5 15.4 12.7 15.9 16.9 17.7 17.7 15.9 LT 10.1 6.8 11.3 13.3 13.2 11.7 15.6 7.0 2.3 8.2 9.7 27.4 27.2 29.1 15.8 9.0 12.0 16.4 9.9 10.4 9.2 LU 1.3 5.3 2.6 2.7 : : : 5.3 4.5 3.1 6.4 : : : 8.5 6.1 3.4 9.2 : : : HU 9.2 6.7 6.5 8.4 4 4.6 1.9 8.9 5.7 6.1 10.6 3.6 4.8 0.1 9.5 6.5 6.8 6.5 5.8 6.8 3.4 MT -1.4 3.3 3.9 -1.0 -1.2 -2.6 -2.6 5.8 -10.6 -4.1 -3.3 -2.6 2.1 6.7 5.1 3.1 1.3 3.2 2.1 3.7 -2.3 NL 3.3 3.1 3.4 0.3 -0.1 0.6 -2.2 3.7 2.3 2.5 0.7 -1.0 -2.0 0.6 2.4 2.1 1.8 -0.5 0.2 1.3 -0.8 AT 4.1 2.5 3.8 3.2 2.6 2.7 2.3 2.3 2.9 3.1 2.0 0.7 0.7 0.6 4.0 5.8 4.7 3.9 3.2 3.0 3.8 PL 5.3 2.0 4.2 3.8 4.5 3.2 7.8 -2.0 12.1 9.4 2.9 12.9 16.3 22.5 4.5 0.7 5.2 4.7 1.5 5.6 1.6 PT 0.8 5.4 3.5 1.0 6.7 7.0 5.4 -3.2 -1.5 -1.1 -1.4 2.6 2.4 3.4 3.8 1.7 3.2 0.6 3.1 2.8 4.4 SI 8.5 3.9 6.5 9.1 5.9 6.3 4.1 -2.2 4.8 1.1 1.4 4.3 4.4 4.1 4.6 3.9 -0.5 6.3 4.0 4.8 0.2 SK 12.6 8.8 10.1 8.7 3.8 1.7 14.6 9.7 11.4 11.8 7.7 5.7 7.5 1.6 5.9 9.9 11.8 11.1 11.6 9.9 16.5 FI 4.5 4.3 4.7 4.7 3.9 3.9 3.9 2.6 3.1 3.1 4.0 3.8 3.7 3.8 3.7 3.8 3.7 3.5 2.6 2.6 2.6 SE 3.6 2.9 2.9 3.0 -0.5 1.6 -4.9 3.2 2.7 2.9 2.7 0.3 2.9 -5.6 3.8 3.3 3.0 2.7 0.9 2.5 -2.3 UK 2.7 3.0 1.6 3.4 1.7 1.6 2.9 0.5 1.2 0.8 5.0 1.5 1.4 2.4 5.2 3.3 1.3 2.8 3.0 2.9 3.6 c Confidential: Data not available TOT = total nominal hourly labour costWAG = wages and salariesOTH = non-wage costs
