According to the Federal Statistical Office, labour costs in industry as well as in the service sector increased by 1.1% over the 3rd quarter 2007 as compared to the same period in 2006. In comparison to the second quarter the increase amounted to 0.3% in figures which were adjusted for season and calendar.
Industry and the service sector comprise the private sector (industry and market-determined services) as well as those services which are not market-determined such as public authorities and the fields of education, tuition and the health care system.
According to recent EU findings relating to the second quarter 2007 a working hour in the German private sector became by 1.1% more expensive as compared to the second quarter in 2006. A similarly small growth of labour costs was registered in no other EU member state. Sweden had the second smallest increase (2.3%) followed by Finland and Malta (+2.6% each) as well as Austria and Belgium (+2.7% each). The biggest increase in labour costs was registered in Latvia with a plus of 31.7%. In France labour costs also increased more than in Germany (+3.5%). The average EU-wide increase amounted to 3.3% and was thus significantly higher than in Germany. 