The latest release from the National Institute of Statistics shows a modest wage and cost climb in the third quarter, with total labor expenses per worker and per month rising by 5 percent from the same period in the prior year. This amount reached 2,892.73 euros, marking a peak in the third quarter that hasn’t been seen since the turn of the millennium. The figure confirms a continuing upward trend in labor costs across the economy during this period.
Over the quarter, the rise in labor costs has continued an uninterrupted sequence of increases that now spans eleven consecutive quarters. At the same time, the quarter’s total is 0.8 percentage points lower than the high point recorded in the previous quarter, illustrating a slight moderation in the pace of growth within the broader trend.
Labor cost is comprised of two main components: the salary bill and other, non-salary expenses. In the July to September window, gross wages, including all forms of compensation in cash and in kind, increased by 4.2 percent on an annual basis, bringing the average to 2,117.80 euros per worker each month. The series has a long history, stretching back more than two decades, and continues to be a key indicator of earnings behavior and competitiveness in the labor market.
Several sectors registered the strongest annual increases in the third quarter. Real estate activities, information and communications, and artistic and entertainment activities posted the most pronounced wage gains, reflecting sector-specific pressures on pay scales and demand for skilled labor in those fields.
Meanwhile, total non-salary costs per worker each month amounted to 774.93 euros in the third quarter, rising 7.2 percent year over year. This component reflects the broader cost of employment beyond wages, including benefits, social contributions, and other employer-related expenses that contribute significantly to overall labor input costs.
In terms of working time, the third quarter saw an average of 35.3 hours per week when both full-time and part-time arrangements are counted together. Within this, an average of 7.5 hours per week were recorded as non-working time, with 6.2 hours attributable to holidays and vacation periods. The data provide a detailed view of how time allocation affects total labor costs and productivity calculations across the economy.
Effective labor cost per hour rose by 5.5 percent on an annual basis in the third quarter, reaching 23.80 euros. This increase reflects a combination of rising wage levels and a decline in the average number of hours actually worked per worker, underscoring how changes in working time can influence cost per hour and the broader cost structure faced by employers.
As for labor market slack, vacancies climbed to 155,797 in the third quarter, the highest tally since record-keeping began in 2013. Of these, 90.2 percent were concentrated in the services sector, signaling persistent demand for labor in service-oriented industries and potential implications for wage dynamics and recruitment strategies across the economy.