site.btaBulgaria Ranks Second in EU in Terms of Hourly Wage Costs Growth in Q1 of 2026

In the first quarter of 2026 the hourly labour costs rose by 3.6% in the EU and by 3.2% in the euro area, compared with the same quarter of the previous year, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, announced on Tuesday. Bulgaria remains in second place in terms of hourly wage costs growth.

The two main components of labour costs are wages and salaries, and non-wage costs.

In the euro area, in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same quarter of the previous year the costs of hourly wages and salaries increased by 3.4% while the non-wage costs increased by 2.9%.

In the EU, in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same quarter of the previous year the costs of hourly wages and salaries increased by 3.7% while the non-wage component increased by 3.2%.

In the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same quarter of the previous year, hourly labour costs in the euro area rose by 3.3% in the (mainly) non-business economy and by 3.2% in the business economy. The lowest increase is in services – by 3.1%, while in construction it rose by 4.1%, and in industry by 3.2%. 

In the EU the tendency is similar, hourly labour costs grew by 3.7% in (mainly) non-business economy and by 3.5% in the business economy: 3.6% in industry, 4.2% in construction and 3.4% in services.

The economic activities that recorded the highest increases in hourly wage costs in the EU, in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same quarter of the previous year, were: Mining and quarrying up by 5.7% followed by Real estate activities and Professional, scientific and technical activities, both 4.8%, and Construction and Education both up by 4.4%.

The data shows that Bulgaria remains among the countries with the highest increase in hourly wage costs (excluding social security contributions and other costs) in the EU during the first quarter of 2026. On an annual basis, the growth reached 13.2%, placing the country in second place behind Hungary with 16.4% and ahead of Croatia with 9.2%.

In the fourth quarter of 2025, Bulgaria, with a 13.8% increase, was again in second place in terms of wage costs growth in the EU on an annual basis.

The lowest increases were recorded in Malta by 1.3%, France - 1.8% followed by Denmark and Latvia - 2.5% each.