The two main components of labour costs are wages and salaries, and non-wage costs.

In Q2 2024, the costs of hourly wages and salaries increased by 4.5 per cent and 5.1 YoY respectively in the euro area and the EU, while the non-wage component increased by 5.2 per cent YoY and 5.4 per cent YoY respectively.

Hourly labour costs in the euro area rose by 4.9 per cent YoY in the (mainly) non-business economy and by 4.6 per cent YoY in the business economy in the quarter; it rose by 4.8 per cent YoY in the industry.

In the EU, hourly labour costs grew by 5.4 per cent YoY in the non-business economy and by 5.1 per cent YoY in the business economy in the quarter; it rose by 5.3 per cent YoY in the industry.

The highest increases in hourly wage costs for the whole economy in Q2 2024 were recorded in Croatia (plus 17.6 per cent), Bulgaria (plus 15.4 per cent), Romania (plus 15 per cent), Hungary (plus 13.2 per cent) and Poland (plus 13.0 per cent).

Two more EU member states recorded an increase above 10 per cent—Latvia (plus 11.0 per cent) and Lithuania (plus 10.9 per cent).

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)