18.03.201606:33:00UTC+00Eurozone Q4 Labor Cost Growth Accelerates

Eurozone's labor costs growth accelerated in the three months ended December, after easing in the previous two quarters, figures from Eurostat showed Friday.

Hourly labor costs climbed at a faster pace of 1.3 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter, following a 1.1 percent hike in the previous quarter. In the second quarter of 2015, the rate of increase was 1.7 percent.

Wages and salaries paid per hour worked grew 1.5 percent annually in the December quarter and the non-wage index went up by 0.7 percent.

In the fourth quarter, hourly labor cost rose 1.2 percent in industry, 0.5 percent in construction, 1.3 percent in services and 1.6 percent in the non-business economy.

In the EU28, labor costs rose at a stable pace of 1.9 percent annually in the three-month period to December.

Among the EU member states, the highest annual increases in hourly labor costs were seen in Romania, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Austria, while decreases were registered in Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.