The hourly labour costs (total cost) increased by 5% in the first quarter of 2023, compared with the same quarter of the previous year, according to provisional data published by the Statistical Service on Friday.

The two main components of labour costs, wages and salaries per hour worked and non-wage costs per hour worked increased by 5.2% and 4.3% respectively, compared with the same quarter of the previous year.

The hourly labour cost (total cost), seasonally adjusted, increased by 1.7% compared to the previous quarter. The hourly labour cost that refers to wages and salaries, seasonally adjusted, increased by 1.6% and the non-wage cost, seasonally adjusted, increased by 2.2%.

It is noted that the Statistical Service adopted a new base year, 2020 (2020=100). In addition, new assumptions were adopted for the estimation of the variables, in accordance with the methodology used, based on the results of the Labour Cost Survey with reference year 2020.

Source: Cyprus News Agency