SOFIA (Bulgaria), September 20 (SeeNews) – Hourly labour costs in Bulgaria rose by an annual 11.0% in the second quarter of 2017, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said on Wednesday.
Salary costs rose by an annual 10.7% in the April-June period, while other labour costs increased 12.4% on the year, the NSI said in a statement.
Hourly labour costs rose the most in the services sector – by 11.5% on the year, followed by the industrial sector with a 10.6% annual growth. In the construction sector, hourly labour costs rose by an annual 4.7%.
According to data published by Eurostat last week, Bulgaria recorded the fourth most significant increase in hourly labour costs among EU member states in the second quarter.
Romania recorded the strongest annual growth in labour costs in the EU – 18.6%, followed by Hungary and the Czech Republic with 13.0% and 11.1%, respectively.
The average annual growth in labour costs in the EU28 was 2.2% in the second quarter.