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Statistics on labour costs give a detailed picture of the level, structure, and short-term development of labour costs. There are 2 types of data collections available for this topic: the quarterly labour cost index (LCI) and four yearly labour cost survey (LCS) data.

Quarterly labour cost index

Concepts and definitions

The quarterly labour cost index (LCI) shows the short-term change in the total hourly costs for employers to maintain their employees. In other words, the LCI measures how much the production factor ‘labour’ drives costs. They allow monitoring possible inflation and deflation risks arising from labour as a production factor.

Data transmission, availability and dissemination

The index is available broken down by

  • cost items, such as wages and salaries, and non-wage costs (employers' social contributions, taxes on wages, etc.)
  • economic activity.

The LCI covers economic activities of industry and services (including public administration). The reference year of the index is 2020.

In addition to index data, the quarterly and annual growth rates of hourly labour costs are also available. The data collection is based on legislation that states countries must send data to Eurostat within 70 days after the end of the reference period.

Data in the online database is updated each quarter. If you wish to consult the data at first release, please refer to the  LCI real time releases since June 2009 (EA and EU).

Data quality

Information can be found in the metadata on the  labour cost index and through the national quality reports available in the same document.

Labour cost survey

Concepts and definitions

Labour cost surveys (LCS) provide information on the level and composition of labour costs. Levels are available in euros, national currency, and purchasing power standards. LCS data detail each component of labour costs, in particular:

  • the gross wages including social contributions payable by the employee
  • social contributions payable by the employer
  • taxes as well as subsidies on labour.

They also include data on the annual number of hours worked and hours paid.

The LCS covers, on a mandatory basis, business units with 10 and more employees and all economic activities, except agriculture, fishing, private households, and extra-territorial organisations. The data for public administration is collected on a voluntary basis.

Data transmission, availability and dissemination

EU Labour Cost Surveys (LCS) are carried out every 4 years. Data is broken down by economic activity and enterprise size. Regional data is also provided according to the NUTS-classification.

The survey reference years are 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020. The reference year of the next survey is 2024.

LCS are based on EU legislation. Data become available about 2 years after the end of the reference period.

Additional information on labour costs is also included in national accounts and collected in structural business statistics (SBS), but is much less detailed.

Data quality

Information can be found in the metadata on the  labour cost survey and through the national quality reports available in the same document.