Hourly labour costs in the euro area (EA16) rose by 3.2% in the year up to the third quarter of 2009, compared with 4.3% for the previous quarter. In the EU27, the annual rise was 3.1% up to the third quarter of 2009, compared with 4.2% for the previous quarter.

The two main components of labour costs are wages & salaries and non-wage costs. In the euro area, wages & salaries per hour worked grew by 3.1% in the year up to the third quarter of 2009, and the non-wage component by 3.6%, compared with 4.2% and 4.6% respectively for the second quarter of 2009. In the EU27, hourly wages & salaries rose by 2.9% and the non-wage component by 3.6%, compared with 4.1% for both components for the previous quarter.

The breakdown by economic activity shows that in the euro area hourly labour costs rose by 5.4% in industry, 2.9% in construction and 2.0% in services in the year up to the third quarter of 2009. In the EU27, labour costs per hour grew by 4.9% in industry and by 2.3% in both construction and services.

These figures are published by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities.

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