In the Eurozone and in the European Union wages grow more than labor costs. The general averages, however, hide significant differences between individual countries: in Italy, eg, the dynamics are opposite.
According to the latest communications from Eurostat, the European statistical agency, between January and March of this year in the countries of the euro area the salaries they grew by 2,5% on an annual basis, an acceleration compared to the +2,3% recorded in the last quarter of 2018.
At the same time, the hourly labor cost increased by 2,4% in the first quarter, after the 2,3% increase in the last quarter of 2018, while other costs, which include taxes and contributions, recorded a +2,2%.
The dynamics are positive even if you look at the whole European Union (28 countries), where on average in the first three months of the year the hourly labor cost scored a +2,6% e wages a +2,7%.
For Italyinstead, between January and March 2019 wages they grew by only 1,9% (from +1,6% in the period October-December 2018).
Also in the first quarter, the hourly labor cost recorded an increase of 2,6% (compared to +2,1% in the fourth quarter of last year), while the other costs – including taxes and contributions – jumped by 4,2%.
Eurostat has also published data on job vacancy rate, which for the entire currency union remained stable at 2,3% in the first three months of the year. The highest level is recorded in the Czech Republic (6,4%), followed by Belgium (3,6%) and Germany (3,3%). The lowest is that of Greece (0,6%).
The European statistical institute specifies that the data relating to Italy in this case are not comparable to those of other countries, because they exclude companies with fewer than 10 employees and significant shares of the Public Administration (health, school and education), which in our country are particularly relevant. In any case, in Italy the "job vacancy rate" stood at 1,3% in the first quarter, from 1% at the end of 2018.
