Romania 2Q Labor Costs Rise At 2nd Fastest Pace In EU

Bulgaria, whose labor costs grew by 8.6% on the year in the second quarter, posted the highest increase among member states, EU’s statistics office Eurostat said.

In the EU bloc, second quarter labor costs were up 1.6% on the year, compared with a 2.1% annual growth for the previous quarter. Hourly wages and salaries rose 1.5% in the second quarter, while the non-wage component of labor costs was up 1.7% on the year.

The highest annual decreases in hourly labor costs were observed in Lithuania (-7%), Latvia (-5.8%) and Estonia (-2.6%).

Broken down by economic activities, labor costs in the EU grew by 1.1% in industry, 1.7% in constructions and 1.9% in services.

In Romania, labor costs in industry were up 6.2% on the year in the second quarter, while costs in constructions and services rose 1.7% and 4.4%, respectively.