Malta with lowest wage rise in EU

Malta has posted the lowest rise in salaries and wages in the EU over the past year.

Eurostat, the EU's statistical office, said that wages and salaries in the euro area grew at an annual rate of 2.5 per cent up to the end of the second quarter of 2007.

In the whole of the EU, wages and salaries rose by 3.3 per cent. The figure for Malta was of only 0.3 per cent.

While it might be bad news for salaried employees, the EU considers it as a positive economic indicator, as it keeps inflation low and increases the country's competitiveness.

On the other end of the scale, Latvia registered a 31.6 per cent growth in wages and salaries.

A breakdown by economic activity shows that in the euro area hourly labour costs rose at an annual rate of 2.7 per cent in industry, 3.2 per cent in construction and 2.2 per cent in services. In the EU27, labour costs grew by 3.2 per cent in industry and by 3.3 per cent in both construction and services.

Eurostat defines the costs related to wages and salaries as costs which include direct remunerations, bonuses and allowances paid by an employer in cash or in kind to an employee in return for work done, payments into employees' saving schemes, payments for days not worked and remunerations in kind such as food, drink, fuel and company cars.