BRUSSELS: Hourly labor costs rose both in the 19-nation eurozone and in the wider European Union (EU) in the last quarter of 2015, the EU statistical office Eurostat said on Friday.
According to its latest figures, in the fourth quarter of 2015, hourly labor costs rose by 1.3 percent in the euro area and by 1.9 percent in the EU compared with the same quarter last year.
The two main components of labor costs are wages and salaries and non-wage costs. In the euro area, on a yearly basis, wages salaries per hour worked in the fourth quarter of 2015 grew by 1.5 percent and the non-wage component by 0.7 percent.
Among member states, the highest annual increases in hourly labor costs were registered in Romania, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Austria. Decreases were recorded in Italy, Cyprus, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
On the same day, Eurostat also published job vacancy rates in both the eurozone and the EU.
Job vacancy rate went up to 1.6 percent in the eurozone in the last quarter of 2015 and to 1.7 percent in the EU.
In both zones, the job vacancy rate in the fourth quarter of 2015 was 1.2 percent in industry and construction, and 2.0 percent in services.
Eurostat said the job vacancy rate in the fourth quarter rose in 21 member states, among which the largest increases were registered in the Czech Republic and Latvia. The only decreases were recorded in Malta and Estonia.
