site.btaBulgaria Records Third-Highest Increase in Hourly Wage Costs in EU in Q1 2025 - Eurostat

Bulgaria recorded the third-highest increase in hourly wage costs in the European Union in the first quarter of 2025. According to the latest data released by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, on Monday, hourly wage costs in Bulgaria went up by 13% compared to the same period in the previous year, maintaining the same growth rate as in the fourth quarter of 2024.

In the first quarter of 2025, the hourly labour costs rose by 4.1% in the European Union and by 3.4% in the euro area, compared with the same quarter of the previous year. This marks a decrease compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, when  hourly labour costs grew by 4.3% and 3.8% respectively.

According to Eurostat, the two main components of labour costs are wages & salaries and non-wage costs.

In the EU, in the first quarter of 2025 compared with the same quarter of the previous year the costs of hourly wages & salaries increased by 4.2% while the non-wage component increased by 3.8%. In the euro area, the two components increased by 3.4% each.

In the first quarter of 2025 compared with the same quarter of the previous year, the highest increases in hourly wage costs for the whole economy were recorded in Romania (+16.1%), Croatia (+13.5%), Bulgaria (+13.0%) and Slovenia (+11.9%). Two more EU Member States recorded an increase of 10% or more: Poland (+11.2%), and Hungary (+10.2%). The lowest increases were recorded in Malta (+1.6%) and France (+1.9%).