Bulgaria's Labor Costs Grow by Nearly 10% Q4 2011 Y/Y

Labor costs in Bulgaria increased by 9.7% in the fourth quarter of 2011 year on year, the country's National Statistical Institute has informed.

The total hourly labour cost grew by 6.6% in industry, by 17.4% in services and by 9.6% in construction.by 9.7% compared to the same period of 2010.

The highest annual growth in total labor costs was registered in the information and communication sector – by 36.8%, followed by scientific research (29.3%) and the trade and repair of motor vehicles (22.8%).

A 10.1% decrease in total labour costs was observed in the real estate sector.

In the structure of total labour costs, wage and salary costs per hour worked grew by 9.7% in comparison with a year earlier, while non-wage costs rose by 10.5%.