Eurozone labour costs up by 2.7%

Total hourly labour costs in the eurozone rose by 2.7 per cent in nominal terms in the year up to the fourth quarter of 2007, compared with 2.5 per cent for the previous quarter, Eurostat reported. In the EU27, the annual rise was 3.5 per cent up to the fourth quarter of 2007, compared with 3.7 per cent for the previous quarter.

The two main components of labour costs are wages and salaries, and non-wage costs. In the eurozone, wages and salaries grew by 2.9 per cent in the year up to the fourth quarter of 2007 and non-wage costs by 2.2 per cent, compared with 2.6 per cent and 2.3 per cent respectively for the third quarter of 2007. In the EU27, wages and salaries rose by 3.7 per cent and the non-wage component by 2.9 per cent. For the previous quarter the corresponding rates were 3.9 per cent and 3.2 per cent.

A breakdown by economic activity shows that in the eurozone hourly labour costs rose at an annual rate of 2.8 per cent in industry, 3.7 per cent in construction and 2.5 per cent in services up to the fourth quarter of 2007. In the EU27, labour costs grew by 3.7 per cent in industry, 5.3 per cent in construction and 3.2 per cent in services.