Preliminary data of the National Statistical Institute for the first quarter of 2020 indicate that the total hourly labour cost rose by 10.2% as compared to the first quarter of 2019. The total hourly labour cost grew by 9.0% in industry, by 9.2% in services and by 8.1% in construction.
The breakdown by economic activities showed that the highest annual growths in total labour costs were recorded in “Education” - 25.9%, “Real estate activities” - 23.2% and “Accommodation and food service activities” by 13.5%.
In the structure of the total labour costs, the wages and salaries costs per hour worked grew by 10.2% in comparison with a year earlier, while the other (non-wage) costs rose by 10.3%. Among the economic activities in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the first quarter of 2019 the growth rate of wages and salaries component ranged from 25.6% in “Education” to 3.4% in “Mining and quarrying”.
Total labour cost index (Working day adjusted, 2016 = 100)
Source: National Statistical Institute