In the second quarter of 2016, hourly labor costs remained the same in Cyprus and increased by 1.0% in the euro area (EA19) and by 1.4% in the EU28.

In the euro area, wages & salaries per hour worked grew by 1.6% and the non-wage component by 1.2% in the third quarter of 2016 compared with the same quarter of 2015. In the second quarter of 2016, the annual changes were +0.9% and +1.5% respectively. In the EU28, hourly wages & salaries rose by 2.0% and the non-wage component by 1.5% in the third quarter of 2016. In the second quarter of 2016, annual changes were +1.4% and +1.7% respectively.

In the third quarter of 2016 compared with the same quarter of the previous year, hourly labor costs in the euro area rose by 1.7% in industry, by 2.0% in construction, by 1.2% in services and by 1.8% in the (mainly) nonbusiness economy. In the EU28, labor costs per hour grew by 2.2% in industry, by 2.6% in construction, by 1.6% in services and by 1.9% in the (mainly) non-business economy.

In the third quarter of 2016, the highest annual increases in hourly labor costs for the whole economy were registered in Romania (+14.7%), the Czech Republic (+9.0%), Bulgaria (+8.4%), Latvia (+7.7%) and Lithuania (+6.8%). Decreases were recorded in Croatia (-5.5%), Malta (-2.1%) and Italy (-0.5%). 

Source: InCyprus