The two main components of labor costs are wages and salaries, and non-wage costs.
In the euro area, between January and March, compared to the same quarter of the previous year, both hourly wages and salaries costs and non-wage costs increased by 3.4%.
Across the EU, hourly wage and salary costs rose by 4.2%, while the non-wage component went up by 3.8%.
Among the Member States, the largest increases in hourly labor costs for the economy as a whole were recorded in Romania (16.1%), Croatia (13.5%), and Bulgaria (13.0%).
Three other EU Member States also saw an increase of 10% or more: Slovenia (16.1%), Poland (11.2%), and Hungary (10.2%).
The lowest increases were observed in Malta (1.6%), France (1.9%), and Germany (2.8%).
In Portugal, the indicator grew by 4.0% in the first three months of the year, compared to the same quarter in 2024.
