Hourly labor costs in the Euro Area increased by 3.3% year-on-year in Q4 2025, easing slightly from an upwardly revised 3.4% in Q3. Wages and salaries rose by 3.0%, down from 3.2%, while non-wage costs accelerated to 4.4% from 3.9%.
By sector, labor costs grew 3.5% in the non-business economy and 3.2% in the business economy, with mixed dynamics across industries: +2.5% in industry, +4.0% in construction, and +3.4% in services.
Across the largest economies, labor cost growth moderated in Germany (3.2% vs. 4.3%) and the Netherlands (4.8% vs. 5.1%), was unchanged in France (1.7%), and picked up in Spain (3.9% vs. 2.0%) and Italy (2.6% vs. 2.3%).