The two main components of labour costs are wages & salaries and non-wage costs.
The hourly labour costs in the euro area rose by 4.6 per cent year on year (YoY) in the euro area and by 5.1 per cent in the EU in Q3 2024.
The job vacancy rate was 2.5 per cent in the euro area in Q3 2024, down from 2.6 per cent in Q2 2024 and from 3 per cent in Q3 2023.
The same in the EU was 2.3 per cent in the quarter, down from 2.4 per cent in Q2 2024 and from 2.7 per cent in Q3 2023.
In the euro area, the costs of hourly wages & salaries increased by 4.4 per cent YoY, while the non-wage component increased by 5.2 per cent in Q3 2024.
In the EU, the costs of hourly wages & salaries increased by 5 per cent and the non-wage component increased by 5.3 per cent in the quarter.
Hourly labour costs in the euro area rose by 4.6 per cent in the industry in the euro area, while in the EU, it grew 5.3 per cent in the industry.
In Q3 2024, the highest increases in hourly wage costs for the whole economy were recorded in Romania (plus 17.1 per cent), Croatia (plus 15.1 per cent), Hungary (plus 14.1 per cent), Bulgaria (plus 12.7 per cent) and Latvia (plus 12.6 per cent).
Three more EU member states recorded an increase of 10 per cent or more, namely: Poland (plus 12 per cent), Lithuania (plus 11 per cent) and Austria (plus 10 per cent), while Greece recorded a drop of 2.9 per cent.
The job vacancy rate was 2.5 per cent in the euro area in Q3 2024, down from 2.6 per cent in Q2 2024 and from 3 per cent in Q3 2023. The same in the EU was 2.3 per cent in the quarter, down from 2.4 per cent in Q2 2024 and from 2.7 per cent in Q3 2023.
The highest job vacancy rates in Q3 2024 were recorded in the Netherlands (4.3 per cent), Belgium (4.2 per cent), and Austria (3.8 per cent). By contrast, the lowest rates were observed in Romania and Bulgaria (0.8 per cent in both) and in Poland and Spain (0.9 per cent in both).
The job vacancy rate increased YoY in five member states, remained stable in six and decreased in 16. The largest increases were observed in Cyprus (plus 0.6 pp) and Greece (plus 0.5 pp). The largest decreases were recorded in Germany (minus 1.1 pp) and Austria (minus 0.8 pp).
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
