Hourly labor cost has been increasing since the beginning of 2007, with a 4.3% annual rise up to the first quarter of 2008, compared with 2.9% for the previous quarter. Most new EU Member States have annual increases over 10%, while Germany is still going through severe wage restraint (+1.6%). Other statistics gathered by Eurostat show that gender equality is still not a reality, with a 15% gap between men and women, in men's favor. (Ref. 080514)
Hourly labor costs in the Euro area rose by 3.3% in nominal terms in the year up to the first quarter of 2008, compared with 2.9% for the previous quarter. In the EU271, the annual rise was 4.3% up to the first quarter of 2008, compared with 3.6% for the previous quarter.
The two main components of labor costs are wages & salaries and non-wage costs. In the Euro area, wages & salaries grew by 3.7% in the year up to the first quarter of 2008, and non-wage costs by 2.3%, compared with 3.2% and 2.0
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