Wage costs increased more slowly in Belgium in the 4th quarter of 2014 than the European average, according to figures published by Eurostat (European Office of Statistics) on Thursday. Hourly labour costs increased by 1.1% in the euro zone and 1.4% in EU28 in the 4th quarter of 2014, compared to the same quarter in 2013. In Belgium, the rise was only 0.7%.
The highest annual increase in hourly labour costs was registered in Romania (+7.9%), Estonia (+6.5%), Latvia (+7.9%), Lithuania (+5.7%) and Slovakia (+5.1%). The most dramatic decrease was registered in Portugal (-8.8%) followed by Cyprus (-2.2%), Croatia (-0.5%), Italy (-0.3%), Portugal (-8.8%) and Ireland (-0.1%).
(Source: Belga)
