Preliminary data of the National Statistical Institute for the first quarter of 2021 indicate that the total hourly labour cost rose by 4.9% compared to the first quarter of 2020.
The total hourly labour cost decreased by 0.4% in industry, while in services and construction there was an increase by 3.5% and 9.4% respectively.
The breakdown by economic activities showed that the highest annual growths in total labour costs were recorded in „Human health and social work activities“ - 25.4%, „Public administration and defence; compulsory social security“ - 17.8% and „Administrative and support service activities“ by 10.4%.
The highest decrease in total labour costs was recorded in „Accommodation and food service activities“ by 9.8%, „Real estate activities“ by 4.0% and „Transportation and storage“ by 2.4%.
In the structure of the total labour costs, the wages and salaries costs per hour worked grew by 5.4% in comparison with a year earlier, while the other (non-wage) costs rose by 2.1%. Among the economic activities in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter of 2020 the growth rate of wages and salaries component ranged from 26.1% in „Human health and social work activities“ to -9.2% in „Accommodation and food service activities“.