Preliminary data of the NSI for the first quarter of 2017 indicate that the total hourly labour cost rose by 10.1% compared to the first quarter of 2016. The total hourly labour cost grew by 10.5% in industry, by 10.6% in services and by 5.8% in construction.

The breakdown by economic activities showed that the highest annual growths in total labour costs were recorded in ‘Real estate activities’ - 15.2%, ‘Professional, scientific and technical activities’ - 13.3%, ‘Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles’ and ‘Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities’ - 12.3%. The lowest increase in total labour costs was observed in ‘Accommodation and food service activities’ by 1.6%, ‘Arts, entertainment and recreation’ by 3.8% and ‘Construction’ - 5.8%.

In the structure of the total labour costs, the wages and salaries costs per hour worked grew by 9.9% in comparison with a year earlier, while the other (non-wage) costs rose by 11.2%. Among the economic activities in the first quarter of 2017 compared to the first quarter of 2016 the growth rate of wages and salaries component ranged from 1.4% in ‘Accommodation and food service activities’ to 15.4% in ‘Real estate activities’.

Source: National Statistical Institute