EUROSTAT released the Labour Cost figures of 2005. Total hourly labour costs in the euro-zone rose at an annual rate of 2.4 percent in nominal terms in the fourth quarter of 2005, up from 2.3 percent in the third quarter.
In the EU253 the annual rise was 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2005, up from 2.2 percent in the previous quarter.
The two main components of labour costs are wages and salaries and non-wage costs.
In the euro-zone, wages and salaries grew at an annual rate of 2.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2005, and non-wage costs by 2.5 percent, compared to 2.2 percent and 2.4 percent in the third quarter.
In the EU25 wages and salaries rose by 3.2 percent and the non-wage component by 2.1 percent. In the previous quarter the corresponding rates were 2.1 percent and 2.5 percent.
A breakdown by economic activity shows that in the euro-zone hourly labour costs rose by 2.2 percent in industry, by 2.4 percent in services and by 2.6 percent in construction in the fourth quarter of 2005.
In the EU25, labour costs grew by 2.6 percent in industry, by 3.0 percent in services and by 3.3 percent in construction.
Among the Member States for which data are available for the fourth quarter of 2005, the smallest annual increases were recorded in Germany (0.4 percent), Portugal (0.7 percent), Malta (2.0 percent), Sweden (2.8 percent), and Denmark (2.9 percent) while the highest annual rises were found in Latvia (16.6 percent), Estonia (14.2 percent), Lithuania (13.7 percent) and Slovakia (9.2 percent).
Annual growth in the wages and salaries component ranged from 0.8 percent in Germany to 16.8 percent in Latvia.
The range for non-wage costs was from -1.0 percent in Germany to 17.6 percent in Latvia.
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