Rise in labor costs faster than EU average in third quarter
In the third quarter of 2021, the hourly labor costs in Estonia rose by 8 percent compared with the same quarter of the previous year, whereas the corresponding growth was 2.5 percent in the euro area and 2.9 percent in the European Union.
In the second quarter of 2021, hourly labor costs increased 0.5 percent in the EU and 5.1 percent in Estonia, according to figures published by Eurostat. Meanwhile, in the euro area, the costs declined 0.1 percent.
The two main components of labor costs are wages and salaries and non-wage costs. In the euro area, the costs of wages and salaries per hour worked grew by 2.3 percent, while the non-wage component rose 3 percent in the third quarter of 2021, compared with the same quarter of the previous year. In the EU, the costs of hourly wages and salaries increased by 2.8 percent and the non-wage component by 3.3 percent.
In Estonia, the costs of hourly wages and salaries grew 8.1 percent while the non-wage component increased 7.6 percent.
The fastest annual growth rate of labor costs was in the third quarter in Lithuania, 15.2 percent, followed by Czechia and Hungary with 13.7 and 10 percent, respectively.
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Editor: Kristjan Kallaste
