A 6.2% GROWTH IN LABOUR COSTS IN THE FIRST QUARTER

The total cost for employers per employee per hour worked increased by 6.2% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2012, while there was an increase of 4.2% in industry, as well as a 9.5% hike in the service sector and a 0.4% rise in the construction sector, according to data of the National Statistics Institute (NSI) published on Monday. For the last quarter of last year, there was an increase of 9.7%, while for the third quarter of 2011, there was a rise of 7.2%.

The largest increase of 17.1% was recorded in the sector "other activities", while there was a growth of 14.6% in administrative and support activities, and a 14.4% increase in the creation and dissemination of information and creative products and telecommunications. The lowest growth was registered in the construction sector, as well as in the activities related to healthcare and social work - of 0.4 % and 1.8 %, respectively. In terms of real estate operations, a 1% reduction in labour costs was also reported, as well as a 0.8% decrease in the sector of culture, sports and entertainment.

In the composition of total labour, the overall payroll costs per hour worked rose by 7.1%, compared to the first quarter of 2011, and other expenditures increased by 2%. By comparison, for the fourth quarter of last year, there was a 9.7% growth in wages. In terms of economic activities, salaries over the same period last year ranged from a decrease of 0.7% for real estate operations to a hike of 18.9% for the sector "other activities".

Let us remind our readers that, according to the latest Eurostat data, Bulgarians received an average of €4,395 per year, which is the lowest indicator in the European Community, given that in Denmark the figure reached €58,640. Bulgaria was outranked even by Romania with €5,891. Average labour costs per hour ranged from €40 in Sweden to €3.1 in Bulgaria and €4.2 in Romania.