Eurozone labor costs show smallest rise in four years, continue to fall in Greece
Labor costs in the eurozone rose at their slowest pace in four years in the second quarter, according to Eurostat, with Greek statistics for the first quarter showing a decline of 10.1 percent.
Greek figures for the second quarter were not available but Eurostat data showed that nominal hourly labour costs in the 17 countries using the euro grew by 0.9 percent in the April-to-June period, following a 1.7 percent increase in the first quarter.
In Italy, labour costs slowed their rise to 0.6 percent from 2.5 percent in the first quarter.
Spain reported a 0.3 percent fall in labour costs.
In Germany, which produces more than half of the euro zone’s exports, labour costs grew by 1.8 percent, down from the 3.7 percent jump in the first quarter.
In contrast, labour costs in France, the bloc’s second largest economy, rose by 0.5 percent after 0.1 percent growth in the previous period.
[Kathimerini & Reuters]
