Press release No.216 / 2009-06-09

1st quarter of 2009: one hour worked costs 5.8% more

WIESBADEN – As reported by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), employers in industry and in the entire service sector paid a calendar-adjusted 5.8% more for one hour worked in the first quarter of 2009 than in the first quarter of 2008. That is the highest increase since the labour cost index time series began to be calculated in 1997. Compared with one quarter earlier, labour costs were up a seasonally and calendar-adjusted 1.7%.

The rates of change of the labour cost index depend not only on the development of labour costs but also on the number of hours worked. Employers’ labour costs are contrasted with hours worked by employees. According to calculations of the Institute for Employment Research of the Federal Employment Agency, the average number of hours worked per employee decreased by 3.4% in the first quarter of 2009 compared with the same quarter one year before. The fall in the number of hours worked was particularly striking in industry where it amounted to – 10.6%. The decline in production led to a reduction of overtime hours in working time accounts, to a decrease in the number of weekly working hours and to short-time work. All these factors made the price of labour as a production factor rise in relation to the number of hours actually worked and to what was produced. Consequently, labour costs per hour went up 11.2% in industry and unit labour costs rose 24.9% against the same quarter one year earlier.

In all of Europe, rates of labour cost change in the private sector of the economy are available for the fourth quarter of 2008. According to those results, the cost of one hour worked in Germany was up a calendar-adjusted 4.8% compared with the fourth quarter of 2007. At that time, a declining number of hours worked already caused an increase in labour costs which was very high in comparison. In the fourth quarter of 2008, nine European states had growth rates that were lower or identical with those of Germany. In earlier quarters, since 2001, Germany had always had one of the lowest growth rates.

In the fourth quarter of 2008, the lowest rates of change were recorded for Malta (+ 0.4%), France (+ 2.3%) and Sweden (+ 2.9%). Then came Ireland with 3.0%, Denmark with 3.3% and Spain with 3.6%. The highest rates of labour cost change were recorded by Greece and Romania with increases by 22.4% and 21.5%. For the fourth quarter of 2008, data are available for 24 of the 27 European Union member states. The rates of labour cost change in countries outside the euro area are measured in the relevant national currencies and thus are not currency-adjusted.

From the first quarter of 2009, the following methodological changes have been made in labour cost index calculation and presentation:
-          There has been a base year change from 2000=100 to 2008=100.
-          The presentation of the labour cost indices by sections is now based on the new German Classification of Economic Activities (WZ) 2008.
-          The labour cost index results published in press releases are seasonally and calendar-adjusted by means of Census X-12-ARIMA now.

>>> brief methodological description

More detailed information on the labour cost index may also be called up free of charge via table 62421-0001 in the GENESIS-Online data base.

Data for comparisons across Europe are provided by the European Data Service (EDS).

Labour cost indices
for industry
in national currencies
Position of computations: 4th quarter of 2008
Member states of the European Union	Index of labour costs, total	Index of labour costs, total	Index of gross wages and salaries	Index of non-wage costs
	Change in the 4th quarter of 2008 on a year earlier ¹⁾	Change in the 4th quarter of 2008 compared with the annual average of the year 2000 ²⁾
	%
¹⁾ Calendar-adjusted applying national methods. ²⁾ Calendar and seasonally adjusted applying national methods. ³⁾ Provisional data. – no data available Source: Eurostat Online Database of 19 May 2009.
Bulgaria	17.9	111.7	140.1	41.0
Germany	4.8	18.9	20.2	14.6
Denmark	3.3	30.7	24.3	82.9
Estonia	8.3	163.8	161.7	65.2
Finland	5.0	42.3	45.1	31.7
France	2.3	36.0	34.4	39.9
Greece	22.4	82.3	87.4	72.6
Ireland	3.0	51.2	52.4	42.9
Latvia	17.2	236.2	243.5	218.8
Lithuania	10.5	112.3	109.1	121.6
Luxembourg	3.9	40.8	43.6	36.8
Malta ³⁾	0.4	27.0	27.5	20.2
Poland	9.8	84.7	83.8	88.4
Portugal	4.8	50.4	49.5	53.8
Romania	21.5	445.7	510.2	303.6
Sweden	2.9	32.8	33.3	30.8
Slovakia	4.8	111.1	16.3	96.0
Slovenia	9.6	86.0	90.8	63.7
Spain	3.6	48.5	46.4	53.6
Czech Republic	8.6	85.6	86.8	84.0
Hungary	7.7	124.6	138.1	99.4
United Kingdom	6.1	43.0	40.6	60.5
Cyprus	7.7	72.7	73.2	69.1

Labour cost indices
Industry and selected service branches
in Germany
Year, quarter		Index of labour costs, total	Index of gross wages and salaries	Index of non-wage costs
¹⁾ Calendar-adjusted, BV 4.1 ²⁾ Calendar and seasonally adjusted, BV 4.1
		Change on the previous year in % ¹⁾
2003		+2.3	+2.1	+2.9
2004		+1.0	+1.3	+0.2
2005		+0.4	+0.7	–0.5
2006		+1.1	+1.2	+0.9
2007		+0.9	+1.4	–0.8
2008		+2.5	+2.6	+1.9
		Change on the same quarter a year earlier in % ¹⁾
2008	1st quarter	+1.6	+2.3	–0.6
	2nd quarter	+1.7	+1.7	+1.7
	3rd quarter	+2.1	+2.2	+1.8
	4th quarter	+4.3	+4.2	+4.4
2009	1st quarter	+5.8	+5.3	+7.3
		Change on the previous quarter in % ²⁾
2008	1st quarter	+0.5	+0.5	+0.2
	2nd quarter	+0.7	+0.5	+1.5
	3rd quarter	+0.8	+0.8	+0.6
	4th quarter	+2.4	+2.4	+2.2
2009	1st quarter	+1.7	+1.4	+2.7

For further information please call:
Hannah Alter,
tel: (+49-611) 75-4589,

E-mail: arbeitskosten@destatis.de

For more details please refer to the German version.

Contact:
tel: (+49-611)75-3444
fax: (+49-611)75-3976
presse@destatis.de
www.destatis.de

Service hours:
Mon - Tue: 8am - 5pm
Fri: 8am - 3pm
CET / CEST

Postal address:
65180 Wiesbaden
Germany

Inhalt maximieren (Accesskey 3)