Labour productivity in the EU rose by 0.9% per person employed and by 0.8% per hour worked in the second quarter of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier.
The increase followed smaller rises of 0.4% on both measures in the first quarter of 2026 compared with a year earlier, Eurostat informed on Monday.
Labour productivity is calculated by combining gross domestic product (GDP) and employment data to estimate how much output is produced per worker or per hour worked.
Slovenia recorded the largest rise in productivity per person, up 4.5% in Q2 2026 compared with Q2 2025, with Denmark up 3.6% and Lithuania up 3.5%.
Only Ireland (-1.0%), Romania (-0.8%) and Italy (-0.4%) saw falls in productivity per person over the same period.
Mixed picture across member states
Measured per hour worked, Slovenia again had the biggest increase at 5.8%, followed by Denmark at 3.5% and Latvia at 3.4%, Eurostat said.
Productivity per hour fell in five EU countries, with the largest drops in Romania (-1.2%), Czechia (-0.8%) and Portugal (-0.5%), while it was unchanged in Ireland.
