Eurozone's labor costs growth accelerated for the second straight quarter in the three months ended March, figures from Eurostat showed Friday.
Hourly labor costs grew at a faster pace of 1.7 percent year-over-year in the first quarter, following a 1.3 percent rise in the previous quarter. In the third quarter last year, the rate of hike was 1.2 percent.
Wages and salaries paid per hour worked rose 1.8 percent annually in the March quarter and the non-wage component increased by 1.5 percent.
In the first quarter, hourly labor costs climbed 2.0 percent in industry, 1.4 percent in construction, 1.7 percent in services and 1.6 percent in the non-business economy.
In the EU28, labor costs also advanced 1.7 percent yearly in the first quarter, but slower than previous quarter's 2.0 percent growth.
Among the EU member states, the highest annual increases in hourly labor costs were seen in Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, while decreases were registered in Italy and Cyprus.
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