Press release No. 207 of 9 June 2020

Labour costs per hour worked, 1^st quarter of 2020
+2.4% on the previous quarter (seasonally and calendar adjusted)
+4.3% on the same quarter a year earlier (calendar adjusted) 

WIESBADEN – In Germany, labour costs per hour worked rose a calendar adjusted 4.3% from the first quarter of 2019 to the first quarter of 2020. This is the highest change rate ever recorded in the labour cost index. It should be noted that, in the index, the costs borne by employers are compared with the number of hours actually worked by employees. Due to holidays or illness, the latter may be markedly lower than the number of hours paid. In such a case, labour costs per hour worked will increase, whereas total labour costs will not increase. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that labour costs were up 2.4% on the previous quarter in seasonally and calendar adjusted terms. This is the highest quarter-on-quarter increase in just under eight years. It is mainly due to a decrease in the number of hours worked. During the corona pandemic that started in March, the number of days taken off was unusually high for any 1^st quarter.

 

Labour costs consist of gross earnings and non-wage costs. In calendar adjusted terms, the costs of gross earnings in the first quarter of 2020 rose by 4.2% on the first quarter of 2019, while non-wage costs were up 4.6%. 

For the international comparison, data are now available from all Member States of the European Union (EU) for the entire year of 2019.The comparison is based on industry and the support services sector. Among other things, the public service and the health sector are not included here. In 2019, Germany ranked seventh in the EU regarding labour costs per hour worked (35.90 euros). Compared with the EU average of 27.40 euros, German employers paid 31% more per hour worked. 

Compared with a year earlier, the price of one hour worked in Germany in 2019 rose a calendar adjusted 2.6%. In the entire EU, the increase in labour costs averaged 2.8% in that period. The highest growth rates within the EU were observed in Romania (+12.2%), Bulgaria (+11.3%) and Hungary (+10.1%). In all three countries the labour cost level is relatively low. The rise in labour costs was lowest in Finland (+0.8%) and in Malta labour costs even decreased (-0.9%). In our neighbouring country France, the increase in labour costs (+1.9%) was markedly lower than in Germany.  

Labour costs per hour worked in industry and the service sector
in Germany

Year, quarter		Index of labour costs, total	Index of gross earnings	Index of non-wage costs
1 Calendar-adjusted, Census X-13-JDEMETRA+. 2 Calendar and seasonally adjusted, Census X-13-JDEMETRA+.
Change on the previous year in % 1
2011		2.7	2.8	2.5
2012		3.1	3.4	2.1
2013		0.8	1.4	-0.9
2014		2.5	2.2	3.5
2015		2.9	2.7	3.3
2016		2.3	2.2	2.5
2017		2.7	2.4	3.5
2018		2.4	2.6	1.7
2019		2.9	2.9	3.0
Change on the same quarter a year earlier in % 1
2018	1st quarter	2.4	2.4	2.3
	2nd quarter	2.3	2.3	2.1
	3rd quarter	2.9	3.2	2.1
	4th quarter	2.2	2.7	0.5
2019	1st quarter	2.5	2.7	1.8
	2nd quarter	3.2	3.2	3.3
	3rd quarter	3.0	3.1	2.9
	4th quarter	3.0	2.7	3.9
2020	1st quarter	4.3	4.2	4.6
Change on the previous quarter in % 2
2018	1st quarter	1.0	0.9	1.4
	2nd quarter	0.0	0.3	-1.0
	3rd quarter	1.2	1.2	1.1
	4th quarter	0.0	0.2	-0.8
2019	1st quarter	1.2	0.9	2.3
	2nd quarter	0.8	0.8	0.7
	3rd quarter	1.0	1.1	0.6
	4th quarter	0.1	-0.1	0.5
2020	1st quarter	2.4	2.3	2.6

EU comparison of labour costs per hour worked in industry and the support services sector
Status of calculations: 4^th quarter of 2019

Member States of the European Union	Change in 2019 on 2018 1			Year 2019 2
	Index of labour costs, total	Index of gross earnings	Index of non-wage costs	Labour costs per hour worked
	in % 3			EUR
1 Source: Eurostat Online Database of 4 June 2020 and calculations by Destatis. 2 Source: Eurostat Online Database of 27 March 2020 and calculations by Destatis. 3 Calendar adjusted applying national methods. / = No figure due to limited reliability
European Union	2.8	2.9	2.5	27.40
Euro currency area	2.5	2.5	2.4	31.20
Belgium	2.0	2.6	0.6	40.70
Bulgaria	11.3	11.1	12.2	6.00
Denmark	2.1	2.0	2.2	46.30
Germany	2.6	2.7	2.4	35.90
Estonia	7.2	7.1	7.4	13.50
Finland	0.8	1.5	-2.3	34.80
France	1.9	1.9	1.9	37.30
Greece	3.3	2.1	7.7	16.60
Ireland	3.6	3.4	5.1	31.60
Italy	2.6	2.0	4.1	27.90
Croatia	3.2	3.8	-0.3	11.10
Latvia	7.2	7.1	7.7	10.40
Lithuania	3.0	/	/	9.50
Luxembourg	2.0	2.1	2.0	41.30
Malta	-0.9	-0.8	-1.3	14.20
Netherlands	2.1	1.8	2.9	35.30
Austria	2.7	2.7	2.8	36.00
Poland	6.1	6.1	6.1	10.40
Portugal	3.1	2.9	3.5	13.70
Romania	12.2	12.3	11.0	7.30
Sweden	1.9	2.8	0.0	39.00
Slovakia	7.1	6.9	7.5	12.70
Slovenia	4.8	4.9	4.5	19.10
Spain	2.2	1.8	3.1	21.70
Czech Republic	6.8	6.8	6.8	13.60
Hungary	10.1	11.0	5.6	10.70
Cyprus	4.6	2.8	15.6	15.30

Methodological notes 

The rates of labour cost change in countries outside the euro area are measured in the relevant national currency and, consequently, are not exchange-rate adjusted. 

Revisions in the data sources used for calculating the labour cost index led to adjustments of the growth rates of the labour cost index. For instance, the calendar adjusted year-on-year rate of increase of the labour cost index was revised downwards from +3.1% to +3.0% for the third quarter of 2019. 

Detailed data and time series relating to the labour cost indices by branch of economic activity are available in table 62421-0001 of the GENESIS-Online database.

Data for European comparisons are available under Europe in Figures.