Euro area sees 3.65% YoY increase in hourly labour costs in Q2 2025

Such costs in the euro area rose by 2.7 per cent YoY in the quarter in the (mainly) non-business economy and by 4 per cent YoY in the business economy. The rise was 3.3 per cent YoY in the industrial sector.

In the EU, such costs grew by 3.1 per cent YoY in the (mainly) non-business economy and by 4.4 per cent in the business economy in the quarter. The rise was 3.9 per cent in the industrial sector.

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

In the euro area, the costs of hourly wages and salaries increased by 3.7 per cent YoY, while the non-wage costs increased by 3.4 per cent YoY in Q2 2025.

In the EU, the costs of hourly wages and salaries increased by 4.1 per cent YoY, while the non-wage component rose by 3.8 per cent YoY in the quarter.

In Q2 2025, the highest YoY increases in hourly wage costs for the whole economy were recorded in Bulgaria (plus 13.4 per cent) and Hungary (plus 11 per cent).

Three more EU member states recorded an increase of 10 per cent or more: Romania (plus 10.4 per cent), Estonia (plus 10.3 per cent) and Greece (plus 10.1 per cent).

The lowest increases were recorded in France (plus 1.4 per cent), Denmark (plus 1.5 per cent) and Malta (plus 1.9 per cent).

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)