In the first quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2022 the total hourly labour cost rose by 15.1% (preliminary data of National Statistical Institute). The total hourly labour cost increased by 18.2% in industry, 15.7% in services and 14.1% in construction.
The highest annual growth in total labour costs was recorded in ‘Transportation and storage’ - by 23.6%, ‘Accommodation and food service activities’ - by 23.5%, and ‘Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities’ - by 19.6%.
In the structure of the total labour costs, the wages and salaries costs per hour worked grew by 15.7% in comparison with a year earlier, while the other (non-wage) costs rose by 12.4%. Among the economic activities in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2022, the growth rate of wages and salaries component ranged from 25.8% in ‘Transportation and storage’ to 3.3% in ‘Human health and social work activities’.