Eurostat, the Statistics Office of the European Community, has published the data relating to the cost of manpower in the European Union, calculated on the basis of the wages on which workers are hired, allowances, pension contributions and bonuses net of income support. The growth begun in 1998 continues, in spite of a reduction in the absolute value of the percentage figures: in the Eurozone the rate registered an increase of 2%, compared with 2.6% in the EU-25. As regards sectors of economic activity, costs per hour of manpower in the Eurozone grew by 2.6% in industry, 1.4% in building and 1.8% in services. For member states as a whole (EU-25) the respective percentages are 3%, 2.7% and 2.5%. The only country to present a negative figure is Malta (-0.2%). Contained increases were registered in Portugal (0.1%), Germany (0.5%) and Holland (0.6%). Exceptional rates of growth in labour costs, on the contrary, were registered in Latvia (23.6%), Lithuania (20%) and Estonia (17%).
