Press release No. 561 of 9 December 2021

Labour costs per hour worked, 3^rd quarter of 2021
+0.5% on the previous quarter (seasonally and calendar adjusted)
+2.6% on the same quarter a year earlier (calendar adjusted)

WIESBADEN – Labour costs per hour worked in Germany were up by a seasonally and calendar adjusted 0.5% in the third quarter of 2021 compared with the second quarter of 2021. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that labour costs rose 2.6% in calendar adjusted terms on the third quarter of 2020.

Labour costs consist of gross earnings and non-wage costs and are shown in relation to hours worked. In the third quarter of 2021 the costs of gross earnings increased a calendar adjusted 2.5% on the third quarter of 2020, while non-wage costs were up by 3.0%.

Labour costs up 4.1% on pre-crisis year

Compared with the third quarter of 2019, the relevant quarter before the coronavirus crisis began, the labour cost index rose 4.1% in the third quarter of 2021. This change is mainly due to higher labour costs and a nearly unchanged overall number of hours worked per employee.

European development: Slight decline on an EU average, large differences between countries

European results are currently available for the second quarter of 2021. They show that the price of one hour worked was down by 0.1% on an average of the 27 European Union (EU) Member States. The development of labour costs in Germany in the second quarter of 2021 (-0.3% year on year, calendar adjusted) was slightly below that in the EU. In another four EU countries, the labour cost index decreased in the period examined, with the largest decline observed in Italy (-8.2%) and Spain (-4.6%). The highest labour cost growth rates in the EU were recorded in Cyprus (+18.0%), Romania (+9.7%), Sweden (+7.5%) and Poland (+7.2%).

The comparison between labour costs in the EU Member States is based on industry and the support services sector. Among others, the public service and the health sector are not included here.

 
Methodological note:

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 number of hours actually worked by employees. Revisions in the data sources used for calculating the labour cost index may lead to adjustments in the time series of growth rates of the labour cost index.

The differing comparative periods must be taken into account in all press releases on short-term indicators. Short-term economic monitoring focuses on comparisons with the previous month or previous quarter. These reflect short-term economic trends. A calendar adjusted comparison with the previous year is intended to offer a long-term comparison of levels and is independent of seasonal fluctuations. Due to temporarily strong decreases and increases during the current coronavirus crisis, the results of month-on-month/quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year comparisons may differ considerably.

More information:

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.

Labour costs per hour worked in industry and the service sector
in Germany
Sections B-S, Nace Rev. 2

Year, quarter		Index of labour costs, total	Index of gross earnings	Index of non-wage costs
1 Calendar-adjusted, X-13-JDEMETRA+. 2 Calendar and seasonally adjusted, 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		2.6	2.3	3.4
2018		2.9	2.8	3.4
2019		2.9	3.0	2.6
2020		3.3	3.4	3.1
Change on the same quarter a year earlier in % 1
2019	1st quarter	2.0	2.3	1.0
	2nd quarter	3.7	3.8	3.5
	3rd quarter	2.8	3.0	2.2
	4th quarter	3.0	2.8	3.5
2020	1st quarter	4.5	4.9	3.0
	2nd quarter	4.2	4.2	4.2
	3rd quarter	1.5	1.7	0.8
	4th quarter	3.1	2.9	3.9
2021	1st quarter	1.5	2.3	-1.0
	2nd quarter	0.2	0.2	0.2
	3rd quarter	2.6	2.5	3.0
Change on the previous quarter in % 2
2019	1st quarter	0.7	0.2	2.4
	2nd quarter	1.5	1.8	0.5
	3rd quarter	0.7	0.8	0.4
	4th quarter	0.1	0.0	0.1
2020	1st quarter	2.1	2.1	2.1
	2nd quarter	1.2	1.1	1.4
	3rd quarter	-1.8	-1.5	-2.6
	4th quarter	1.7	1.3	3.1
2021	1st quarter	0.4	1.3	-2.6
	2nd quarter	0.0	-0.7	2.3
	3rd quarter	0.5	0.6	0.3

EU comparison of labour costs in industry and the support services sector
Sections B-N, Nace Rev. 2
Status of calculations: 2^nd quarter of 2021

Member States of the European Union 5	Change in 2nd quarter of 2021 on 2nd quarter of 2020 1			Year 2020 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 23 November 2021. 2 Source: Eurostat online database of 8 February 2021 and Destatis calculations. 3 Calendar adjusted by means of the relevant national methods. 4 Status of calculation: third quarter of 2021. 5 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.
European Union	-0.1	-0.5	1.5	28.0
Euro currency area	-0.9	-1.1	0.1	32.1
Belgium	0.9	1.0	0.9	41.4
Bulgaria	4.2	4.8	1.0	6.4
Denmark	4.1	0.1	36.5	46.9
Germany 4	-0.3	-0.3	-0.4	36.7
Estonia	5.1	4.0	8.6	13.7
Finland	2.6	1.8	6.9	34.9
France	-1.1	-1.5	0.1	38.1
Greece	4.3	3.4	7.9	17.3
Ireland	4.8	3.2	88.0	30.5
Italy	-8.2	-7.4	-10.3	29.1
Croatia	0.3	0.4	0.0	10.6
Latvia	1.3	2.2	-2.1	11.0
Lithuania	6.2	7.5	-19.3	10.1
Luxembourg	-0.7	0.2	-9.1	41.8
Malta	2.8	-3.4	-57.0	13.7
Netherlands	6.3	-1.1	65.0	35.2
Austria	0.2	3.0	-7.9	38.0
Poland	7.2	7.2	7.3	10.6
Portugal	0.7	-2.2	13.5	14.4
Romania	9.7	9.8	6.7	7.7
Sweden	7.5	3.0	19.3	39.8
Slovakia	0.6	0.2	3.5	13.3
Slovenia	3.7	0.2	30.1	19.5
Spain	-4.6	-3.0	-8.9	22.6
Czech Republic	0.9	-0.8	6.7	14.0
Hungary	2.2	4.2	-8.9	10.6
Cyprus	18.0	17.3	22.1	14.9