Eurostat reports that hourly labor costs increased by 1,6% in the Eurozone and by 1,9% in the EU27. The data, referring to the first quarter of this year compared to the same period of 2012, is expressed on an annual basis and compares with an increase of 1,3% for both areas in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to the same period of the previous year.
In Italy, labor costs in the first quarter of 2013 increased by 2,5%.
The countries with the highest growth were Romania (+8,6%) and Estonia (+7.5%) while labor costs fell in Slovenia (-3,8%), Spain (-0,7% ), Cyprus (-0,5%) and Portugal (-0,3%).
Breaking down the data on labor costs into its two main components – wages and non-wage costs – the Statistical Office of the European Union records increases of 1,7% and 1,4% respectively in the Eurozone. For Italy this figure is 2,3% and 3,1%.
At sector level, again with reference to the Eurozone, the strongest increases are reported in industry (+3,3%) followed by construction (+1,8%) and services (+1,3%).
