Labour costs decreased in first quarter

Cyprus is one of only two countries in the EU where labour costs have decreased in the first quarter of 2016 compared with the same period last year.

According to a Eurostat report published on Friday, hourly labour costs dropped in Cyprus by 0.3 per cent. The only other country with a decrease is Italy (-1.5 per cent). The biggest increases were recorded in Romania (10.4 per cent) and Bulgaria and Estonia with 7.7 and 6.9 percent respectively.

The decline in Cyprus is due to a decrease in the industrial sector by 3.1 per cent, while costs increased slightly in the construction (0.3 per cent) and services sectors (0.7 per cent).

Hourly labour costs which include both wages and non-wage costs rose by 1.7 per cent in the EU in the first quarter of 2016 compared with the same quarter of the previous year.

Costs grew by 1.9 per cent in industry, by 2.6 per cent in construction and 1.6 per cent in services.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.