According to the report from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, hourly labour costs rose by 2.4% in the euro area (EA19) and by 2.6% in the EU28 in the first quarter of 2019, compared with the same quarter of the previous year. In the fourth quarter of 2018, hourly labour costs increased by 2.3% and 2.8% respectively.

The two main components of labour costs are wages & salaries and non-wage costs. In the euro area, the cost of wages & salaries per hour worked grew by 2.5% and the non-wage component by 2.2% in the first quarter of 2019 compared with the same quarter of the previous year. In the fourth quarter of 2018, the annual changes were +2.3% and +2.4% respectively. In the EU28, the costs of hourly wages & salaries rose by 2.7% and the non-wage component rose by 2.1% in the first quarter of 2019. In the fourth quarter of 2018, annual changes were +3.0% and +2.3% respectively.