In the third quarter of 2024 the hourly labor costs rose by 4.6% in the euro area and by 5.1% in the EU, compared with the same quarter of the previous year. These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
The two main components of labour costs are wages & salaries and non-wage costs.
In the euro area, in the third quarter of 2024 compared with the same quarter of the previous year
the costs of hourly wages & salaries increased by 4.4%, while
the non-wage component increased by 5.2%.
In the EU, in the third quarter of 2024 compared with the same quarter of the previous year
the costs of hourly wages & salaries increased by 5.0% and
the non-wage component increased by 5.3%.
Breakdown by economic activity
In the third quarter of 2024 compared with the same quarter of the previous year, hourly labour costs in the euro area rose by 4.6% both in the (mainly) non-business economy and in the business economy:
+4.6% in industry,
+5.0% in construction and
+4.5% in services.
In the EU, hourly labour costs grew by 5.1% in the (mainly) non-business economy and by 5.0% in the business economy:
+5.3% in industry,
+5.5 % in construction and
+4.9% in services.
In the EU, in the third quarter of 2024 compared with the same quarter of the previous year, the economic activity (NACE Rev. 2 sections) that recorded the highest increases in hourly wage costs were:
R – ‘Arts, entertainment and recreation’ (+7.0%)
P – ‘Education’ (+6.2%)
The lowest annual increase was recorded in NACE Rev. 2 section B – ‘Mining and quarrying’ (+2.6%).
In the EU, in the third quarter of 2024 compared with the same quarter of the previous year, the economic activity (NACE Rev. 2 sections) that recorded the highest increases in the non-wage component were:
I – ‘Accommodation and food service activities’ (+6.6%)
F – ‘Construction’ (+6.3%).
The lowest annual increase was recorded in NACE Rev. 2 section B – ‘Mining and quarrying’ (+3.2%).
Hourly wage costs across countries
In the third quarter of 2024 compared with the same quarter of the previous year, the highest increases in hourly wage costs for the whole economy were recorded in Romania (+17.1%), Croatia (+15.1%), Hungary (+14.1%), Bulgaria (+12.7%) and Latvia (+12.6%). Three more EU Member States recorded an increase of 10% or more, namely: Poland (+12.0%), Lithuania (+11.0%) and Austria (+10.0%), while Greece recorded a decrease (-2.9%).
Tables
Q3 2023 | Q2 2024 | Q3 2024 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
TOTAL | WAGES | OTHER | TOTAL | WAGES | OTHER | TOTAL | WAGES | OTHER | |
Euro area | 5.0 | 5.1 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 4.9 | 5.8 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 5.2 |
EU | 5.4 | 5.6 | 5.0 | 5.6 | 5.5 | 5.9 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 5.3 |
Belgium | 7.9 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.7 |
Bulgaria | 14.9 | 15.6 | 11.4 | 15.4 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 12.8 | 12.7 | 13.4 |
Czechia | 8.1 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 6.3 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 5.0 |
Denmark | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.6 |
Germany | 4.8 | 5.3 | 3.5 | 6.0 | 5.7 | 7.2 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.8 |
Estonia | 11.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 8.6 | 8.7 | 8.5 |
Ireland | 10.9 | 6.3 | 44.7 | 6.6 | 6.1 | 10.0 | 5.4 | 5.0 | 7.4 |
Greece | 6.7 | 7.0 | 5.6 | 9.3 | 8.7 | 11.5 | -2.6 | -2.9 | -1.7 |
Spain | 5.5 | 4.6 | 7.8 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 5.7 |
France | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 4.8 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 3.8 |
Croatia | 16.2 | 16.2 | 16.5 | 17.6 | 17.6 | 17.9 | 15.1 | 15.1 | 15.1 |
Italy | 2.4 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 6.0 |
Cyprus | 5.7 | 5.9 | 4.9 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 1.6 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 1.5 |
Latvia | 12.0 | 12.4 | 10.4 | 11.1 | 11.0 | 11.3 | 13.1 | 12.6 | 15.2 |
Lithuania | 11.2 | 11.4 | 7.8 | 11.0 | 10.9 | 12.1 | 11.2 | 11.0 | 16.3 |
Luxembourg | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.6 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.9 |
Hungary | 15.1 | 15.4 | 13.3 | 12.7 | 13.0 | 10.8 | 13.9 | 14.1 | 12.8 |
Malta | 4.5 | 4.6 | 3.8 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 3.1 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 3.7 |
Netherlands | 5.8 | 6.3 | 4.4 | 5.6 | 5.3 | 6.5 | 6.0 | 5.7 | 7.1 |
Austria | 6.1 | 5.9 | 6.9 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 8.5 | 10.3 | 10.0 | 11.3 |
Poland | 12.2 | 12.2 | 12.1 | 12.9 | 13.0 | 12.6 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 11.8 |
Portugal | 5.1 | 4.8 | 6.4 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.2 |
Romania | 14.9 | 15.1 | 9.3 | 15.0 | 15.0 | 14.4 | 17.1 | 17.1 | 16.7 |
Slovenia | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.2 | 6.1 | 6.2 | 5.7 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.4 |
Slovakia | 7.4 | 8.1 | 5.1 | 9.1 | 7.8 | 13.1 | 7.5 | 6.3 | 11.2 |
Finland | 4.0 | 3.8 | 4.8 | 1.4 | 2.1 | -2.3 | 2.0 | 2.7 | -1.7 |
Sweden | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 2.6 |
Norway | 7.7 | 6.0 | 18.1 | 5.8 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 6.1 | 6.3 | 5.7 |
Iceland | 8.9 | 8.8 | 8.9 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 5.6 | 5.5 | 5.6 |
Q3 2023 | Q2 2024 | Q3 2024 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
TOTAL | WAGES | OTHER | TOTAL | WAGES | OTHER | TOTAL | WAGES | OTHER | |
Euro area | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 5.6 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 5.4 |
EU | 5.8 | 5.9 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 5.7 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 5.6 |
Belgium | 8.1 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.6 |
Bulgaria | 14.5 | 15.1 | 11.3 | 13.2 | 13.3 | 12.2 | 13.3 | 13.2 | 13.8 |
Czechia | 9.1 | 8.9 | 9.6 | 6.9 | 6.9 | 6.8 | 5.8 | 6.0 | 5.4 |
Denmark | 3.1 | 3.1 | 2.6 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
Germany | 5.2 | 5.6 | 3.9 | 5.7 | 5.5 | 6.5 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.9 |
Estonia | 9.6 | 9.5 | 9.7 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 7.9 | 8.1 | 7.5 |
Ireland | 13.9 | 5.7 | 68.1 | 7.3 | 6.5 | 11.3 | 5.8 | 5.4 | 7.4 |
Greece | 7.9 | 8.2 | 6.5 | 11.6 | 10.4 | 16.2 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 4.7 |
Spain | 5.4 | 4.6 | 7.5 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 5.2 | 4.8 | 6.5 |
France | 4.1 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 4.5 | 3.1 | 2.7 | 4.1 |
Croatia | 14.7 | 14.7 | 15.0 | 12.2 | 12.1 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 11.3 | 11.2 |
Italy | 3.1 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 5.6 |
Cyprus | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 1.9 | 4.4 | 4.9 | 1.6 |
Latvia | 12.2 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 11.2 | 11.3 | 11.1 | 13.4 | 13.0 | 15.2 |
Lithuania | 11.9 | 12.1 | 6.8 | 10.7 | 10.5 | 13.9 | 9.8 | 9.6 | 15.2 |
Luxembourg | 8.0 | 8.0 | 7.8 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 4.8 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
Hungary | 15.7 | 16.0 | 13.7 | 11.8 | 12.1 | 9.1 | 12.9 | 13.0 | 11.7 |
Malta | 4.9 | 4.9 | 6.1 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 5.2 |
Netherlands | 6.1 | 6.3 | 5.1 | 5.3 | 4.8 | 7.2 | 5.9 | 5.5 | 7.5 |
Austria | 7.4 | 7.2 | 8.1 | 8.0 | 7.8 | 8.6 | 9.5 | 9.2 | 10.9 |
Poland | 11.5 | 11.5 | 11.4 | 10.6 | 10.6 | 10.4 | 10.1 | 10.1 | 10.1 |
Portugal | 5.2 | 4.9 | 6.2 | 8.9 | 8.9 | 8.9 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.1 |
Romania | 14.4 | 14.6 | 9.8 | 14.4 | 14.5 | 13.8 | 15.8 | 15.8 | 15.3 |
Slovenia | 5.4 | 5.5 | 5.0 | 7.7 | 7.8 | 7.4 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.2 |
Slovakia | 8.2 | 9.2 | 5.2 | 8.3 | 6.7 | 13.1 | 7.3 | 5.8 | 11.7 |
Finland | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 1.3 | 2.1 | -2.5 | 1.4 | 2.2 | -2.5 |
Sweden | 3.9 | 4.7 | 2.3 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 5.0 |
Norway | 7.8 | 5.3 | 23.1 | 5.9 | 5.5 | 6.0 | 7.2 | 7.5 | 5.8 |
Iceland | 9.1 | 9.1 | 8.9 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 6.9 | 7.0 | 6.8 |
Q3 2023 | Q2 2024 | Q3 2024 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
TOTAL | WAGES | OTHER | TOTAL | WAGES | OTHER | TOTAL | WAGES | OTHER | |
Euro area | 4.0 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 5.6 | 5.4 | 6.4 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.8 |
EU | 4.6 | 4.8 | 3.9 | 6.1 | 6.0 | 6.2 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 4.8 |
Belgium | 7.4 | 7.5 | 7.0 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.9 |
Bulgaria | 15.7 | 16.8 | 11.3 | 22.9 | 22.9 | 22.9 | 11.2 | 10.9 | 12.5 |
Czechia | 5.6 | 5.9 | 4.5 | 5.2 | 5.3 | 5.1 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 3.6 |
Denmark | |||||||||