Press release No. 086 of 10 March 2017
WIESBADEN – In Germany, labour costs per hour worked rose by 2.5% in 2016 on a calendar adjusted basis, compared with a year earlier. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that the costs of gross earnings increased by 2.3%, while non-wage costs were up 3.4%.
Compared with the 4th quarter of 2015, labour costs in the 4th quarter of 2016 rose by 3.0% in calendar adjusted terms. This relatively high value is due to a decline in hours worked compared with the same quarter of the previous year. As a result, an increase was recorded in labour costs per hour worked as a whole. Compared with the previous quarter, the seasonally and calendar adjusted increase was 1.5%.
For the third quarter of 2016, rates of labour cost change in industry and the service sector are available for all 28 European Union (EU) Member States. According to those results, the price of one hour worked in Germany rose by 2.3% in calendar adjusted terms on the third quarter of 2015. In the entire EU, the increase in labour costs averaged 1.9% in that period. The highest growth rates within the EU were recorded in Romania (+14.7%), the Czech Republic (+9.0%) and Bulgaria (+8.4%). However, labour costs declined in Croatia (–5.5%), Malta (–2.1%) and Italy (–0.5%). In France, the increase in labour costs (+1.4%) was considerably lower than in Germany.
The rates of labour cost change in countries outside the euro area are measured in the relevant national currency and, consequently, are not currency adjusted.
Methodological notes
The rates of labour cost change are based on the results of the labour cost index. The latter measures the change in labour costs and additionally provides a breakdown of labour costs into their two components, namely gross earnings and non-wage costs. In all three indices, the costs borne by employers are compared with the hours actually worked by employees.
| Year, quarter | Index of labour costs, total | Index of gross earnings | Index of non-wage costs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Calendar-adjusted, Census X-12-ARIMA 2 Calendar and seasonally adjusted, Census X-12-ARIMA | ||||
| Change on the previous year in % 1 | ||||
| 2008 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 0.8 | |
| 2009 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 3.5 | |
| 2010 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 3.3 | |
| 2011 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.6 | |
| 2012 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 2.0 | |
| 2013 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.8 | |
| 2014 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 2.2 | |
| 2015 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.6 | |
| 2016 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 3.4 | |
| Change on the same quarter a year earlier in % 1 | ||||
| 2014 | 1st quarter | 1.0 | 1.7 | –1.4 |
| 2nd quarter | 1.8 | 1.5 | 3.1 | |
| 3rd quarter | 2.7 | 2.3 | 3.9 | |
| 4th quarter | 2.4 | 2.2 | 3.2 | |
| 2015 | 1st quarter | 2.8 | 2.6 | 3.2 |
| 2nd quarter | 2.9 | 3.3 | 1.2 | |
| 3rd quarter | 2.5 | 2.7 | 2.1 | |
| 4th quarter | 2.8 | 2.5 | 4.0 | |
| 2016 | 1st quarter | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| 2nd quarter | 2.0 | 1.2 | 4.6 | |
| 3rd quarter | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.6 | |
| 4th quarter | 3.0 | 2.9 | 3.5 | |
| Change on the previous quarter in % 2 | ||||
| 2014 | 1st quarter | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.6 |
| 2nd quarter | 0.7 | 0.4 | 1.9 | |
| 3rd quarter | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.5 | |
| 4th quarter | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.0 | |
| 2015 | 1st quarter | 0.7 | 0.6 | 1.0 |
| 2nd quarter | 0.9 | 1.2 | –0.1 | |
| 3rd quarter | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.3 | |
| 4th quarter | 0.8 | 0.6 | 1.6 | |
| 2016 | 1st quarter | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.2 |
| 2nd quarter | 0.0 | –0.3 | 1.3 | |
| 3rd quarter | 0.6 | 1.0 | –0.5 | |
| 4th quarter | 1.5 | 1.3 | 2.3 | |
| Index of labour costs, total | Index of labour costs, total | Index of gross earnings | Index of non-wage costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Change in 3rd quarter of 2016 on 3rd quarter of 20151 | |||
| in % | |||
1 Calendar adjusted applying national methods. Source: Eurostat Online Database of 6 March 2017 and calculations by Destatis based on the Eurostat Online Database. | |||
| European Union | 1.9 | 2.0 | 1.5 |
| Euro currency area | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.2 |
| Belgium | 0.3 | 0.8 | –1.1 |
| Bulgaria | 8.4 | 8.3 | 8.8 |
| Denmark | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.3 |
| Germany | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.6 |
| Estonia | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.6 |
| Finland | 1.4 | 1.0 | 2.7 |
| France | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.1 |
| Greece | 0.5 | – | – |
| Ireland | 0.7 | 0.4 | 2.1 |
| Italy | –0.5 | 0.0 | –1.7 |
| Croatia | –5.5 | –5.5 | –4.2 |
| Latvia | 7.7 | 7.4 | 8.8 |
| Lithuania | 6.8 | 6.7 | 7.0 |
| Luxembourg | 1.4 | 1.6 | 0.4 |
| Malta | –2.1 | –2.1 | –1.8 |
| Netherlands | 1.8 | 2.0 | 0.9 |
| Austria | 1.9 | 1.6 | 3.0 |
| Poland | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.7 |
| Portugal | 3.6 | 3.9 | 2.6 |
| Romania | 14.7 | 14.7 | 14.8 |
| Sweden | 2.9 | 2.2 | 4.5 |
| Slovakia | 4.5 | 4.4 | 5.5 |
| Slovenia | 3.5 | 2.9 | 7.0 |
| Spain | 0.4 | 0.8 | –0.4 |
| Czech Republic | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.1 |
| Hungary | 6.0 | 6.4 | 4.8 |
| United Kingdom | 1.4 | 1.7 | 0.2 |
| Cyprus | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
Detailed data and time series relating to the labour cost indices by branches of economic activity can be called up free of charge via table 62421-0001 in the GENESIS-Online database.
Data for European comparisons are available under Europe in Figures.