Hourly labour costs rose in the fourth quarter of 2022 by 5.7% in the euro area and by 5.8% in the EU, compared with the corresponding period of 2021, the European statistical office, Eurostat, reported on Friday.
The two main components of labour costs are wages and salaries, on the one hand, and non-wage costs on the other.
In Belgium, hourly labour costs rose by just over 7% in the fourth quarter, year-on-year. This was above the European average and higher than the increases observed in Germany, France and the Netherlands.
The highest increases in hourly labour costs across the board were recorded in Bulgaria (+16.5%), Lithuania (+15.7%) and Hungary (+14.9%), according to Eurostat.
Four other EU Member States recorded increases of more than 10%: Romania (+11.2%), Slovenia (+10.8%), Poland (+10.2%) and Estonia (+10.1%).
