Nominal wages in Cyprus rose 0.5% in April to June compared to a year before while costs other than wages and salaries dropped 0.1%, Eurostat said in a statement on its website on Friday.

Total nominal labour costs for businesses rose in Cyprus an annual 0.4% in the second quarter, broken down to 0.5% increase in wages and practically unchanged other costs, Eurostat said. In the case of non-businesses, total labour costs rose also 0.4%, as a result of a 0.6% increase in wages and 0.2% drop in other costs.

In the euro area, total labour costs rose 1.8% in the second quarter while in the EU the increase was 2.2%, Eurostat said. The highest increase was in Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic with 19%, 13% and 11% respectively. The three Baltic states, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia reported the highest increases in the euro area with 10%, 8.1% and 8.1% respectively.

The lowest increase in the EU were in Finland and Spain, with Italy trailing Cyprus with minus 0.3%, 0.4% and 0.9% respectively, Cystat said.

Source: Cyprus Mail