December 19 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's hourly wage costs grew by an annual 16.3% in the July-September period, second only to Hungary with 16.6% among the 27 EU member states, the bloc's statistical office said on Monday.
Greece, with 11.6% growth, and Romania, with 10.9%, were two of only four other EU countries where wage cost growth exceeded 10%, the others being Lithuania with 13.9% and Poland with 13.3%, Eurostat said in a regular report.
In the third quarter of 2022, hourly wage costs rose by 2.8% in the EU on average against the comparable quarter of 2021, with the rate of increase easing from the 3.6% recorded in the previous quarter.
Slovenia was the country where hourly wages increased the least year-on-year, by 1.3%, according to the data set.
In the EU on average, the hourly labour costs went up by 3.4% on the year in the review period, with the highest increase registered in services, of 3.9%.
Wages and salaries are one of the two main components of labour costs, the other being non-wage costs, among which employers’ social contributions.
In terms of overall nominal labour costs for the whole economy in the third quarter, Bulgaria showed the EU's highest annual increase, or 16.2%. Overall hourly labour costs in Bulgaria in the three months through September grew the most in industry, by 18.1%, followed by services with 16.4% and construction with 16.0%, Eurostat data showed.