Hourly labour costs in Malta went down marginally last year but were the most stable in the EU, according to Eurostat figures issued today.

Hourly labour costs in the euro area (EA16) rose by 2.2% in the year up to the fourth quarter of 2009, compared with 3.0% for the previous quarter. In the EU27, the annual rise was 2.4% up to the fourth quarter of 2009, compared with 2.9% for the previous quarter.

In the euro area, wages and salaries per hour worked grew by 2.0% in the year up to the fourth quarter of 2009, and the non-wage component by 2.7%, compared with 2.8% and 3.5% respectively for the third quarter of 2009. In the EU27, hourly wages & salaries rose by 2.2% and the non-wage component by 3.0% in the year up to the fourth quarter of 2009, compared with 2.8% and 3.5% respectively for the previous quarter.

The highest annual decreases in hourly labour costs were observed in Lithuania (-10.8%), Estonia (-5.8%), Latvia (-5.6%) and Slovenia (-3.6%).

The highest annual increases were registered in Bulgaria (+11.3%), Austria (+6.5%), Poland (+5.7%), the Czech Republic (+5.4%) and Romania (+5.2%).

The labour costs in Malta were the most stable, with a decline of 0.4%.