Bulgaria, whose labor costs grew by 9.8% on the year in the third quarter, posted the highest increase among member states, EU’s statistics office Eurostat said.
Ireland posted the only annual decrease in hourly labor costs, of 1.1% in the third quarter.
In the EU bloc, third quarter labor costs were up 2.6% on the year, compared with a 3.2% annual growth for the previous quarter. Hourly wages and salaries rose 2.6% in the second quarter, while the non-wage component of labor costs was up 3.2% on the year.