In the first quarter of 2026, compared to the first quarter of 2025, the total hourly labour cost rose by 13.4% (according to preliminary data). The total hourly labour cost increased by 14.1% in industry and by 12.5% in services.
The highest annual growth in total labour costs was recorded in the following sectors: ‘Public administration and defence; compulsory social security’ - by 20.3%, ‘Other service activities’ - by 19.3%, and ‘Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply’ - by 18.9%.
In the structure of the total labour costs, the wages and salaries costs per hour worked grew by 13.2% in comparison with a year earlier, while the other (non-wage) costs rose by 14.2%. Among the economic activities in the first quarter of 2026, compared to the first quarter of 2025, the growth rate of wages and salaries component ranged from 20.6% in the ‘Other service activities’ sector to 7.7% in the ‘Real estate activities’ sector.
